According to CNN, 80% of all clothing is landfilled or incinerated, which creates a massive build-up of waste. Inexpensive clothes mass-produced at a very low cost, known as the fast fashion industry, is one of the main contributors to pollution. There’s an overwhelming consumption problem in fashion, which results in harmful impacts on the environment, those working to manufacture clothing, and ultimately consumers' wallets.

As the threat of climate change remains ever-present, consumers are looking for ways to make their lives and daily practices, such as shopping, more sustainable. This is why we are delighted to have partnered with Lenzing and Tencel, an environmentally responsible company creating branded Lyocell and Modal fibers. These fibers help to maintain the environmental balance by being integrated into nature’s cycle.

The fibers originate from the renewable raw material wood, created by photosynthesis. The certified biobased fibers are manufactured using an environmentally responsible production process to eventually create a product that is durable, comfortable, and fully compostable! How incredible is that?

How Lenzing Supports One Tree Planted

Our partnership with Lenzing came about after the devastating California wildfires in 2019, which resulted in 876,000 acres of forests burned and damaged. Lenzing and Tencel have leaned into the power of social media to support reforestation efforts with a few different campaigns. First, they donated one tree for every five likes or 10 shares on their social media. During the past holiday season, Tencel launched a #12DaysofGiving online sweepstakes. For every submission, Tencel pledged to plant one tree - up to 10,000 trees!

Tencel also offers a 1:1 model - one tree is planted for every purchase of a product with Tencel branded Lyocell and Modal fibers. The company also has matched each retail partner’s donation of a minimum of 1,000 trees.Thanks to our ongoing partnership, over 16,000 trees have been planted with another 10,000 scheduled for planting this year.

A portion of this donation has been applied to a reforestation project in the Yosemite Valley of California in order to support forest fire restoration after the Ferguson Fire that occurred in the summer of 2018 and burned over 96,000 acres. The overall initiative, with Lenzing as a contributor, planted a total of 115,000 trees across 875 acres, in an area located immediately west of the community of Yosemite West and roughly surrounded otherwise by Yosemite National Park and Sierra National Forest.

In addition to planting trees with us, Lenzing has demonstrated their commitment to sustainability by:

• Operating in line with three strategic principles within the context of its “Naturally positive” sustainability strategy: partnering for change, advancing circularity and greening the value chain
• Eetting an ambitious science-based target (SBT) for a 50 percent reduction in CO2-emissions per ton of pulp and fiber sold by 2030 and aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050,
• Introducing the first TENCEL™ branded CarbonNeutral® fibers in September 2020, 
• Aiming to manufacture staple fibers on an industrial scale containing up to 50 percent recycled material by the year 2025
• Launching a digital platform in 2020 in cooperation with TextileGenesis™ to enable the traceability of textiles, from the fiber to all stages of production and distribution, and more!