Nanollose will launch a Lee Mathews designed garment made from its eco-friendly Nullarbor lyocell fibre at a leading international forum for sustainability in fashion this month.

Australia-based biomaterial technology company Nanollose (ASX: NC6) has unveiled its world-first garment made from 100% tree-free and forest-friendly Nullarbor lyocell fibre.

The garment was designed by Lee Mathews, an Australian womenswear fashion designer, and will be launched in collaboration with leading man-made cellulosic fibre manufacturer Birla Cellulose at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen on June 7 and 8.

The Global Fashion Summit is the leading international forum for sustainability in fashion and fosters industry collaboration to drive positive impact.

Attendees feature influential voices in the industry including commentators, visionaries, researchers, politicians, designers, environmentalists and journalists.

Launching at a widely respected global industry event provides Nanollose with the opportunity to unveil the new garment and promote Nullarbor to a wide audience of industry professionals.

With Nanollose’s innovative processes providing a potential solution to some of the critical environmental issues facing the industry, particularly deforestation, the company anticipates an increased level of interest following the successful launch at the summit.

Lee Mathews garment a key milestone

Fibre for the garment was produced in collaboration with Birla Cellulose, then spun into yarn by The Institute for Frontier Materials at Deakin University, Victoria, using standard industrial yarn-making equipment.

The resulting Nullarbor yarn was then provided to Victorian knitwear developer, Knovus, who made two copies of the Lee Mathews designed garment and sample swatches using the latest zero-waste 3D knitting technology.

The process demonstrated that Nullarbor lyocell fibre integrates seamlessly with existing industrial equipment to produce high-quality garments.

Chance to show what can be done

Executive chairman, Dr Wayne Best, said the Copenhagen launch of the Lee Mathews designed garment was an exciting opportunity for Nanollose to showcase what can be achieved by designers and fashion labels using its Nullarbor fibres.

“To this end, Lee Mathews has incorporated several stitch techniques into the garment which highlight the properties and versatility of the fibre,” Best said.

He said the summit will be the perfect setting to introduce the new Nullarbor garment, with the event attracting the brightest and most innovative in fashion globally.

“With a focus on sustainability and leading positive change, we will have access to a wide audience who set the agenda on the most critical environmental, ethical, and social issues facing the industry and seek solutions to fix them,” he said.

“Attending alongside our strategic partner Birla Cellulose, we expect to see an increased level of interest following the event as more potential partners get to see and feel the benefits of the fibre first-hand.”

Birla Cellulose Chief Marketing Officer, Rajnikant Sabnavis, said the company was committed to developing ideas that meet the exacting needs of the fashion industry while meeting their own ambitious sustainability goals.

“The summit is a great opportunity for showcasing the innovation that has been co-developed with Nanollose to bring a non-tree fibre to life in combination with our own sustainable lyocell fibre,” he said.

“We are looking forward to more such developments and we have more innovations particularly in the space of circular fibres in the pipeline.

We at Birla Cellulose will always endeavour to bring fashion closer to the ideals of sustainability.”

Growing interest in Nullarbor-20 lyocell fibre

Production and promotion of its Nullarbor garment complements Nanollose’s completion in February of the first pilot scale spin of its forest-friendly, sustainable Nullarbor-20 lyocell fibre with its strategic partner, Birla Cellulose – a global leader in man-made cellulosic fibre manufacturing and part of the Aditya Birla Group.

Birla Cellulose is a global leader in sustainable fibres and operates with an integrated value chain from forest plantations to fibre production. Its operations span nine countries and 12 manufacturing locations globally.

The spin, at its R&D facilities in India, led to creation of 250kg of Nullarbor-20 fibre from a blend of 20% microbial cellulose and 80% conventional wood pulp and demonstrates the potential of the technology and resulting fibres.

Since the pilot spin, Nanollose has entered several collaborations as it moves to get its forest-friendly Nullarbor fibres to market.

In its most recent update, the company said progress is being made across several business development initiatives as discussions with potential partners including leading global fashion and textile brands continue.

This article was developed in collaboration with Nanollose, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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