In Finland, Stora Enso joined TreeToTextile AB, a joint venture between H&M group, Inter IKEA group and innovator Lars Stigsson, with the aim of developing new textile fibers in a sustainable way at attractive cost levels. Stora Enso will support the industrialization of TreeToTextile’s production process by setting up a demonstration plant at one of its Nordic facilities.
“We are excited to welcome our new partner, Stora Enso, and to share more of the innovative work that we are doing at TreeToTextile. With the help of our new partner, we will be entering an industrialization phase. The new fiber that we have developed is both sustainable and produced at a lower cost,” says Annica Karlsson, chairman of the board, TreeToTextile AB.
TreeToTextile’s process takes renewable forest raw material and regenerates the cellulose into a textile fiber. The technology has been tested in a pilot line in Sweden and is now to be scaled up with the construction of a demonstration plant at one of Stora Enso’s Nordic facilities. Inter IKEA group and H&M group plan to use the fiber in their products, but the aim is that the entire industry should benefit from this sustainable fiber since it can be used in conventional supply chains.