Mainland maker poised to produce

One green material poised to gain popularity among fashion product suppliers and buyers is Lyocell, a biodegradable fiber said to have vast market potential. Made from bamboo or wood pulp, Lyocell combines the best qualities of natural and synthetic fibers. The material has the softness of silk, the strength of polyester and the absorbency of cotton. Compared to viscose fibers, it provides twice the dry strength and three times the wet strength.

Lyocell has been gaining popularity in the U.S. and European markets over the past couple of years. But even though it is produced moderately in several areas now, the fiber reportedly has a worldwide output of only 150,000 tons so far.

A manufacturer based in Shanghai has recently jumped on the bandwagon, developing mainland China's first production line for Lyocell. The Shanghai Textile (Group) Corp. said its Lyocell lines will be up and running by the end of this year. In the initial phase, the company will have an annual capacity of 2,000 tons of the material.

In cooperation with Donghua University, Shanghai Textile has already finished trial production on 100 tons of the special fiber.

Lyocell exhibits higher wet-cohesion especially when fibrillated. It also provides better wet resilience and wet-collapse resistance, stronger bonding with latex, stronger thermal bonding with synthetic fibers, reduced shrinkage in drying/curing and better dimensional stability. Lyocell has a recycle rate as high as 99.7 percent after dissolution, according to R&D technicians.