As the world’s leading producer of man-made cellulose fibers, Lenzing AG relies on cooperating with strong partners. This is also the case in its latest partnership concluded with Löffler and the Red Cross.
Tests proceeded without a hitch
Starting in the middle of May 2013, the Red Cross not only has “the suitable jacket for you” but also a suitable polo shirt “Made by Löffler” from the environmentally compatible Lenzing fiber TENCEL. The polo shirt is being knitted using a new type of fiber blends in which TENCEL plays the main role.
Tests with the new generation of polo shirt have been underway for more than one year to the great satisfaction of the employees working for the Upper Austrian Red Cross. Now the first larger batch of polo shirts produced by Löffler in Ried is being delivered and will be supplied to the regional Red Cross sites starting in May or June.
Andreas Gürtler, Project Manager Active Sportswear, describes the cooperation with Löffler. “The company Löffler is a longstanding product development partner of Lenzing for highly functional and exclusive sportswear with TENCEL. New applications for TENCEL are discussed at regularly held meetings and integrated in the new collections.
"For example, the material of the Red Cross polo shirt is used in the trekking collection. This development was preceded by extended textile and material-related tests carried out in our research department in order to find out the best possible blending ratio with TENCEL to ensure the optimal functionality of the polo shirt material.“
The future fiber TENCEL
TENCEL is produced in accordance with the lyocell process, which was granted the “European Award for the Environment” by the EU thanks to its environmentally compatible technology. TENCEL fibers are used in the textile industry as well as for nonwovens. The production process is particularly environmentally friendly and features almost the complete recovery of solvents. Lenzing continues to be the world’s only industrial scale supplier of TENCEL.
New applications are continually being developed. The optimal moisture management of the TENCEL fibers makes it attractive for use in high quality home textiles such as quilts and bed linen, but also in ladies’ outerwear and activewear. TENCEL is also designed for sensitive segments such as cosmetics, hygiene and medicine, for example in wound dressings and baby wipes.
TENCEL is even used in the technical segment, for example to enhance the strength of plastics or to manufacture electro-technical components. The latest technical application is TENCEL powder. It is deployed as a moisture regulator in foam mattresses and as additives to building materials, amongst other uses.
The Lenzing Group
The Lenzing Group is a world market leader with headquarters in Austria, production sites in all major markets as well as a worldwide network of sales and marketing offices. Lenzing supplies the global textile and nonwovens industry with high-quality man-made cellulose fibers and is the leading supplier in many business-to-business markets. The portfolio ranges from dissolving pulp, standard and specialty cellulose fibers to engineering services.
