Demand is a catalyst for change. Fashion is rising to meet today’s consumer demands for responsibly-made garments. But where do designers and, more so, fabric suppliers go to satisfy the growing expectation that fashion is more environmentally sustainable?

The textile market has begun to offer more sustainable fabrics using greener manufacturing methods and materials. Viscose, ever-popular, is traditionally made from tree and bamboo pulp, and damaging to forests if harvesting it is left unchecked. While viscose made from a mixture of recycled wood and virgin fibers exists, one sustainable tech company in Sweden, Renewcell, has patented a process to efficiently create pulp made from 100 percent recycled cotton clothing called Circulose®. Renewcell aim tmake it the industry standard.

The company was founded in 2012 by chemical scientists Mikael Lindström and Gunnar Henriksson at KTH The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and Malcolm Norlin, an entrepreneur who formerly owned a pulp mill. Recognizing that a better, less environmentally harmful solution was possible, the three men teamed up and started researching a patented method to convert used cotton to a new pulp. By 2018, the brand was close to bringing the product to market when the Levi’s textiles team visited the lab to discover the fiber innovation.

At that time, alternatives on the market had not developed large-scale production to break down the fibers as Renewcell had. Others such as Lenzing™  and Tencel™ X Refibra™ contain a mixture of both recycled wood and virgin fibers. Recycled materials made the traditional way by shredding the old garments tend to produce shorter, scratchier, less uniform textiles, thus why virgin fibers are added to improve quality. Being a pulp, Circulose® is broken down to the molecular stage and produces longer, more uniform fibers.

Though Levi’s would introduce a pair of 502 men’s jeans and a women’s High Loose jean as part of the Levis® Wellthread™ collection in July 2020, H&M was first to bring the fabric to market with a blue dress released in March 2020 as part of its Conscious collection. The dress was distributed globally, retailing for approximately $129, and is just the tip of the collaboration between Renewcell and the Swedish fast-fashion giant. The company made a significant investment in the fiber start-up in 2017. H&M announced, in November 2020, a five-year commitment to replace virgin fiber with recycled textiles made from Circulose®. So far, the retail chain purchased 10,000 tons of recycled pulp.

Luxury is also keeping a close watch on this innovative new fiber pulp. Kering took part in a Fashion for Good initiative, “Full Circle Textiles Project: Scaling Innovations in Cellulosic Recycling,” in September 2020 in which the European luxury player joined corporations such as Laudes Foundation, Birla Cellulose, PVH Corp., and Target to invest and promote the work of fiber recycler Renewcell and others such as Evrnu, Infinited Fiber Company, Phoenxt, and Tyton BioSciences. According to Harald Cavalli-Björkman, Renewcell’s Chief Growth Officer, Kering is currently testing the pulp in its Materials Innovation Lab, working in conjunction with mills and manufacturers to develop textiles worthy of a luxury-good price point.

The company wasn’t initially stealth when it came to navigating the textiles and fashion industry. It knew there was an image issue in trying to convince manufacturers of its superior quality. In the fall of 2019, Renewcell introduced its product at Premiere Vision.

“We asked ourselves how one sells a recycled cotton pulp?” recalled Cavali-Björkman. “We didn’t have a finished product yet, and visitors to the show wanted to see what it looked like as a textile.”

At least one sizeable Chinese manufacturer of fibers, yarn, and fabrics, Tang Shan San You, saw the potential and became their first client to transform the pulp into textiles beyond Levi’s and H&M.

Renewcell knew communicating its superior quality was vital. “We weren’t just making a fiber for textiles for the ‘sustainable by identity’ or hippie market but a product that is quality first and then sustainable,” Cavali-Björkman said. Renewcell holds firm that designers and textile manufacturers are advocates for the consumer. “The brands and designers interpret and influence the value chain. Their decisions affect what happens in the market. Smaller manufacturers are seeking and feeding the demand in the market. This is how the industry makes changes,” he added.

Renewcell opened its first processing plant in 2018 in a former paper factory that had shut down due to decreased demands. They rehired some of the same workers from the paper plant to work there. Currently, a bigger factory is under construction in Sundsvall, Sweden.

Fast Company named Renewcell one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2021. Circulose® was also included on TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 Best Inventions 2020. By Renewcell’s estimate, hundreds of millions of garments will be saved from landfills and incineration yearly to create Circulose®. That is one promising change.