Viscose versus Lyocell – Wood Pulp Fibres

Viscose versus Lyocell – Wood Pulp Fibres

If you follow us on social media, you know that, at Aatise, we privilege natural materials and therefore environmentally friendly fabrics. And since it can sometimes seem complicated to navigate through all these classifications with barbaric names, let's take advantage of this series of technical articles to discover the characteristics of the materials you wear daily.

What am I wearing? Session 2

After sharing with you our passion for linen in a previous post, it is time to talk about the disputed but exciting match between Viscose and Lyocell.

Let’s get started!

Viscose

Very present in today’s textile production, viscose is an artificially made fiber from a natural material. In fact, it consists of cellulose from wood or bamboo, which is chemically generated from wood pulp.

This process underwent a major expansion until 1950 before being competed with by the arrival of synthetic fibers based on petroleum products, such as polyester, which is not biodegradable.

The production of viscose fibers is the result of the use of carbon disulfide (CS2): a toxic, flammable and polluting product that cannot be recovered after use. For this reason, this material is not considered as 'Organic' and is subject to controversy in the news.

The properties of viscose: High absorbency, biodegradability and low elasticity, little wrinkling, easily washable.

Lyocell

Lyocell is the generic name of the material, but you may know it by the brand-specific names of TENCEL® or Lenzing Modal®: from Lenzing in Austria, for example!

The environmental problems caused by the viscose production process have prompted researchers to develop a new, more natural manufacturing process. This is how Lyocell, a 100% cellulose fiber, was born.

Produced in a quasi-closed circuit, it is a much more environmentally friendly fiber than viscose because the solvent (NMMO), used to dissolve cellulose, is more than 97%recoverable and production requires very little water.

Entirely natural and ecological, Lyocell has earned its title as an “organic” eco fiber..

Ecological advantages of Lyocell:

*Made in Europe (from wood, sustainably managed forests),

*Minimal carbon footprint,

*Biodegradable, uses a biological production process.

The properties of Lyocell: The list is long!

*Wrinkle-free (no need for energy to iron),

*Wash and dry stability (hardly shrinks),

*Good moisture absorption (which limits the formation of bacteria),

*And finally, the material is easy to wash.

And to top it all off: a silky touch close to that of silk!

For all of these reasons, we prefer Lyocell (Modal or Tencel) as much as possible in the manufacture of the pieces in our collections. Even if the material is expensive, and it’s more difficult to obtain supplies, we wish to replace in the very short term our viscose products with this 100% natural fiber.