In the evolving scenario where the quest for sustainability is getting bigger day by day and consumers are raising concerns on environmental impacts posed by textile industries, Lenzing has appropriately positioned itself with its innovative range of products. From producing fibers made from wood to becoming a global technology leader, Lenzing’s history spans 80 years of innovation.
“Today, sustainability is a movement and not just a trend-able goal,” Vernon Yeo, Head Marketing and Branding – Asia, Middle East & Africa told IMAGES Business of Fashion Bureau on the sidelines of the India Fashion Forum 2019, held in Mumbai in March.
As per the Austrian fiber firm, globally the industry produces close to 100 million tons of fiber every year. This is not without negative effects on the environment. Fortunately, more and more consumers are aware of this ecological strain and so, the demand for sustainable textile is rising.
With businesses in key markets in Europe, America and AMEA (Asia, Middle East, Africa), Lenzing is known for its robust B2B textile value chain.
It collaborates with its international network of partners to contribute towards improving the ecological performance throughout the entire value chains. It also works towards enhancing the environmental benefit of the end products.
“A lot of companies want to be sustainable today. But if you look at their value chain, many have just one part of them as sustainable while the need is to be sustainable throughout the value chain by the time it reaches the customer,” Vernon said.
sCore Ten Strategy
The brand introduced its sCore Ten strategy to understand customers and their substantial need, where the key element is essentially to reach out to customers downstream but not down to the consumer. It forces a conscious effort to reach to its customers through its upstream value chain that familiarises and re-enforces ‘down to the customer’, to understand that what they are buying when a tag states ‘Lenzing fibre’, which is a sustainable fibre through a sustainable production process. The spokesperson shared an example of its partner brand Mango which has a Lenzing tag and also educates the customers about the kind of tencel (modal fibre) the garment contains.
“The aim is to further develop the goodwill with the upstream value chain partners. We also want to extend this goodwill downstream to our present retailers,” Vernon shared.
Product Innovation
Made from cellulose, LENZING™ fiber is a natural component. The firm uses all the valuable wood components that a renewable and natural raw material has to off er, which implies that at the end of their life cycle, the fibers biodegrade –and nature returns to nature. The LENZING™ standard Lyocell and Modal fibers are used in manufacturing workwear, home segment and in the packaging industry.
TENCEL™ is Lenzing’s flagship brand for textiles. Offering features such as soft to skin, smooth to touch, luxurious in shine and fluidity, it is used for a variety of highly specialised applications in garment manufacturing. Similarly introduced Tencel Luxe in 2017 for the premium luxury market, the filament product offers fluidity, shine and softness as to silk. The introduction of LENZING™
ECOVERO™ Viscose fibers mark a new milestone in Lenzing’s sustainability journey. Derived from certified renewable wood sources using an eco-responsible production process, the fibers meet high environmental standards for a sustainable lifestyle and contributing to a cleaner environment.
VEOCEL™ fibers comprises their non-woven segment. These fibers’top qualities, regarding liquid absorption, make them an ideal ingredient for sanitary and baby care products, facial sheet masks, cosmetic pads, and all other kinds of wet and dry wipes.
The Indian Market
Partnering brands like Zara Uniqlo, H&M, for Lenzing India is a big production center and a consumer market as well.
Lenzing is supplying to all major apparel categories in India including women’s ethnic wear, intimate wear, denim wear and home segment. Arpit Srivastava, Marketing and Branding Manager SA said, “Our biggest consumer market would be the outer wear segment that comprises the formal wear, western wear and women’s wear brands as our products find a larger application. We have also been partnering with innerwear brand like Jockey for close to a decade now. Also Goversons, Prettysecrets, etc., a lot of these brands have a very strong regional presence in Tier II and III cities and are using our products. In these markets volumes will not be high but our product feature like softness comes out really strong here.”
It has been working with brands like AND and Global Desi which are not just using Lenzing products but also talking about the unique process of these Lenzing fibres to consumers. The brand has been participating in some of India’s most renowned fashion weeks, showcasing its collections through sustainable processing in the entire value chain.
“We are trying to do the best we can to educate consumers into understanding why our product is better. This is because when people get what is special about this product, then they are willing to buy it, and even pay more for it,” Vernon concluded.
(With inputs from Rosy N Sharma)
