The world’s foremost man-made cellulosic fiber (MMCF) innovators have been duking it out for years, all vying for the coveted No. 1 ranking in Canopy’s annual Hot Button Report. For the first time this year, three companies—Birla Cellulose, Lenzing and Tangshan Sanyou—have all earned the highest honor from the sustainable forestry nonprofit.
The firms each earned 33 “buttons”—units of measurement which denote engagement in audits, conservation, next generation solutions, improved sourcing policies, transparency and traceability and improved supply chains. Their low-risk status as supply chain partners to leading brands establishes them as “dark green shirts,” the foremost leaders in the space.
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The 2024 assessment revealed some “encouraging strides” for the MMCF industry at large. For one, 97.5 percent of all global MMCF production is now represented in the report—amounting to 28 global innovators—and 71 percent of these rated producers earned green, partial dark green or dark green shirts. Green shirt production remained consistent with last year at 53 percent.
According to Canopy, “China once again showed remarkable leadership” in the MMCF space. Tangshan Sanyou, a first-time first-place winner located in Hebei Province, China, produces a viscose staple fiber made from 30 percent to 50 percent recycled content dissolving pulp. “This product was the first MMCF containing post-consumer recycled textiles,” Canopy wrote.
Meanwhile, Chinese MMCF producers Yibin Grace and Xinxiang Chemical Fiber Co. achieved the second-highest number of buttons, 32, for scaling up next-gen fiber solutions. Other notable mentions include Jilin Chemical Fiber (31.5), Eastman (30), and Acegreen (30).
Lenzing, which has been a top Hot Button Report contender or winner for several years in a row, earned high marks for sourcing, conservation and next-gen solutions.
The company brought to market the first lyocell fiber containing 30 percent recycled pre-consumer content-based cotton waste with up to 10 percent post-consumer content. Lenzing has a large-scale partnership with Sodra Once More to create up to 60,000 tons of product made with 50 percent recycled cotton and 50 percent wood pulp.
The Austria-based firm has also been vocal about the importance of next-gen fiber solutions, signing onto a letter to governments calling for support for innovators in the space. An industry leader, Lenzing opened a mill in Brazil that produces FSC-certified 100-percent dissolving pulp—a step above most mills, which produce an FSC Mix of FSC-certified and non-certified fibers.
India-based Birla has “consistently” worked to reduce risk in its supply chain, and is rated low-risk for sourcing from ancient and endangered forests. According to Canopy, the company owns a mill near ancient and endangered forest land in Canada’s Boreal, and Birla and Canopy have actively explored conservation solutions that seek to preserve 70 percent of it. In 2024, that mill closed and stopped all wood sourcing. Birla is now talking through co-management opportunities with First Nations in New Brunswick, Canada.
The group in turn increased its procurement of FSC-certified fiber, and it continues to invest in research and development for next-gen solutions. Like Lenzing, Birla contributed to a letter to global governments about the importance of scaling up solutions.
“Birla Cellulose is proud to be leading the collaborative effort for scaling up Next Gen solutions,” H.K. Agarwal, business director of Birla Cellulose, said. “This prestigious recognition affirms Birla Cellulose’s unwavering dedication to enhancing sustainable wood sourcing practices, forest conservation, and maintaining transparency in the value chain.”
Despite the best efforts of movers and shakers in the MMCF space to champion new solutions that reduce reliance on virgin raw materials, Canopy said the pressure on the world’s forests remains higher than ever.
The annual production of forest-derived fabrics is increasing, not slowing, and based on volumes disclosed to Canopy, MMCF production has ballooned by nearly half a million tons from 2023. Some of that uptick in production comes from green shirt producers, but the largest increase comes from Sateri, a partial red shirt company that has been acquiring other mills and now makes up almost one-quarter of global MMCF production capacity.
“Now more than ever, it is vital that Next Gen fibre solutions begin to displace forest fibre in MMCFs in a significant and accelerated way,” Canopy wrote.
Notably, though, nearly all the producers engaged with the nonprofit are either actively utilizing next-gen products or are engaged in the research and development process. Over the past year, the industry was shaken by the bankruptcy and sale of Renewcell (now Circulose), but Canopy said the saga served as a case study, providing learnings for others in the space about “what it is going to take to scale Next Gen through the long value chain.”
