Turning trees into textiles is linked to historical atrocities and environmental harm. But any plant-based material can potentially become viscose-rayon
ayon is a soft, silky fabric that is perhaps the most confusing of all the textiles. It’s sometimes called viscose, modal, lyocell, tencel, acetate or bamboo. It tends to feel denser and more fluid than cotton or linen, but even this depends on how it’s been extracted and spun.
Forests are integral to the fight against global warming because carbon is stored in the woody biomass of tree trunks and branches, and in the roots, shrubs and soil that make up the forest floor. Given the immense beauty of forests, and the plants, animals and birds they provide homes to, the link between rayon and deforestation is a particularly sad truth and one of fashion’s best disguised secrets.
Rayon also has links to some of the world’s darkest history. In the midst of the second world war, the Nazis forced prisoners to labour in rayon factories. There are accounts of the chemicals burning holes in their uniforms, causing injuries anywhere it touched the skin, while emissions resulted in neurological side effects like blindness and psychosis.
By 2020 Aditya Birla Group announced that it has set a target for all of its manufacturing sites to be compliant with EU BAT standards and verified by the end of 2022. Pointing to the fact that trees and forests are a significant aid against a warming planet, Carr says Canopy’s priority is to ensure no viscose rayon sourcing occurs in ancient or endangered forests.
The process can be much more efficient than converting trees because of the high cellulose content of some fibres, such as cotton. According to Canopy, on average it takes 2.5–3 tonnes of trees to create 1 tonne of viscose pulp, but it takes only about 1 tonne of recycled cotton or rayon to make 1 tonne of viscose pulp.
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