Last Updated on September 30, 2024 by Sneha Sridhar
While TENCEL™ fabric has been making ripples in the sustainable and semi-synthetic clothing market, lyocell fabric has emerged as another big trend in the same vertical. As more people continue to realize the excesses of the fast fashion industry and its contribution to global textile waste, lyocell is a label consumers are looking for in order to shift to a more sustainable choice.

Sometimes, finding an eco-friendly fabric in a sea of synthetic wear is equal to finding a needle in a haystack. Though the quest for a sustainable fabric that resists wear and tear is difficult, it is not impossible at all. This is how Lyocell clothing has commanded respect for itself amongst conscious consumers who wish to transition to softer fabrics that are safe to use.
There are several things about Lyocell that one should know about before going for it. Such bits of information include its production process, its pros, and cons, and if it passes the sustainability test or not. More so, people are often confused if Lyocell and TENCEL™ modal are the same or not.

A popular search query is also about adapting Lyocell clothing in fashion and if it is legitimately the next big green trend in sustainable and affordable clothing or not. Lyocell clothing also needs to be subjected to a thorough, researched take to ascertain its viability as a game-changer in eco-friendly fashion.
When we are talking about Lyocell, we are thinking fast and slow. No offense to Daniel Kahneman, but thinking fast about alternatives in a slow fashion is what we mean. It’s not enough to just mean business, it is also becoming imperative that we consider the alternatives to what is clearly harming our planet.
Read on to discover more about this new clothing revolution. We will leave it to you to decide if you want to embrace it or not after looking at all the facts about it.
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What is Lyocell Fabric?
Touted as an eco-friendly fabric alternative, Lyocell fabric is renowned for its softness and the comfort it provides. To begin with, Lyocell is a semi-synthetic product. It is used to make a variety of clothing articles, and even bed toppers and mattresses because of its texture.
But then, how can semi-synthetics be eco-friendly? Is it another greenwashing tactic where customers have peddled deceptions in the name of earth-friendly innovations? Is Lyocell then admissible as a green alternative to all the harmful synthetics such as Nylon, Rayon, and Polyester?
The History of Lyocell Fabric
This fiber has two theories about its origin. One source says that lyocell was developed in 1972 by the American Enka, a company that was the U.S.’ largest rayon fiber manufacturer. Initially, when Lyocell was discovered, it was produced solely at the company’s facility in Enka, California. In fact, it is surprising that while people think that Lyocell stemmed from TENCEL™, it is quite the opposite. The research which was originally done for Lyocell laid the groundwork for TENCEL™. Lyocell was the fiber that was originally trademarked as TENCEL™.

Lyocell and its invention were driven by environmental concerns. While this post and several others too refer to Lyocell as a fiber- it appeared first as a patent for a method to dissolve cellulose solutions by using NMMO. NMMO is a non-toxic solvent that can be easily regenerated and hence, has a higher dissolving capacity. The discovery was made way back in 1966-68, and it was then that in ten years hence, American Enka began exploring how to spin the dissolved cellulose fiber.
Unfortunately, wasn’t too successful of an experiment and withered in its infancy due to failures in the commercialization processes. It is here where the research for modal fabric began- more, specifically, the history of lyocell is also the history of TENCEL™. It is easy to confuse the two, but ignorant to think that they have no differences or that they refer to entirely separate concepts.
It was in 1980 that a Research and Development team of UK-based manufacturer Courtaulds developed a successful method to make Lyocell from cellulose fiber. In 1982, the company built a first-of-its-kind, small-scale production plant to produce Lyocell. It was Courtaulds that developed Lyocell under the brand of TENCEL™, which is more popularly known as a ‘fiber’ today.
Austrian firm Lenzing AG, which is known to be the pioneer in developing and producing viscose rayon also took up cudgels and started producing Lyocell in 1990. They marketed the Lyocell fiber under the brand Lenzing Lyocell®. And then it was no stopping for Lenzing, which also acquired the Courtaulds production plants in Grimsby and Alabama. The acquisition made Lenzing the world’s largest Lyocell manufacturer, a tag that it retains to date.