Australian fashion brand Lee Mathews will use 90 kilograms of tree-free lyocell fibre in a small capsule collection.
The fibre, called Nullarbor-20, comes from a second pilot spin between Australian biotech firm Nanollose and Indian-based textile manufacturer Birla Cellulose.
Nanollose’s textile partner, Paradise Textiles, has prepared several fabric samples from fibre produced in the second pilot production for fashion brands regarding potential applications.
The 90 kilograms of fibre being converted into fabric for Lee Mathews is expected to represent the first commercially available garments containing Nullarbor fibre.
Lee Mathews had worked with Nanollose last year for the company’s Nullarbor concept garment launched at the Copenhagen Global Fashion Summit in 2022.
According to Nanollose, Nullarbor Tree-Free lyocell fibre is sustainable and considerably stronger than conventional lyocell. Its Nullarbor-20 is a proprietary blend of 20% microbial cellulose and 80% FSC certified wood pulp.
The latest move comes as Nanollose completed its third pilot spin of its ‘Forest Friendly’ Nullarbor and Nufolium lyocell fibre with Birla Cellulose.
Half a tonne of Nullarbor-20 was produced in the second spin, produced specifically for an unnamed partner of Nanollose who requested it.
The third pilot spin was double the scale of its second pilot spin, with the Nufolium-20 fibre being the first batch for nonwoven applications - at 110 kilograms.
Nufolium uses the same microbial cellulose raw material and the same environmentally friendly lyocell process but “changes some parameters to modify the fibre for use in nonwoven materials such as wipes.”
Nanollose currently has a cooperation agreement with Codi Group, Europe’s largest producer of wet wipes, for developing and using Nufolium in wipes.
The 110kg of Nufolium-20 fibre will be converted into a nonwoven textile prior to delivery to Codi Group for testing and development purpose.
“We are delighted with the results from this third pilot production run with Birla Cellulose, which has further demonstrated the scalability and commercial potential of the technology,” Nanollose executive chairman Dr Wayne Best said. “At over half a tonne of fibre, the spin marks a significant increase over the previous two spins.
“While the pilot spins continue to provide important technical information, it is very pleasing to see them also beginning to provide valuable quantities of fibre for our partners and projects.
“We look forward to updating shareholders with the progression of fibre from both the second and third spins in the near future.”