Viscose is labeled on our clothes as a natural material. But in reality, it is a process of transforming a natural material, and not a very clean process at that !
Viscose: an artificial material of natural origin
Viscose is a material derived from wood, which has its advantages but also its disadvantages.
Derived from wood
It is called a natural material because it is obtained from a natural fiber. In fact, viscose is derived from wood cellulose (bamboo, corn, soy, beech or eucalyptus). The term viscose comes from the way the fiber is made, a viscous organic liquid used to make both rayon and cellophane. Originally, it was called artificial silk because this transformation process was invented in 1884 by a Frenchman, Count Hilaire de Chardonnet, who was looking for a material similar to silk, which was then very fashionable but expensive (the term rayon appeared in 1924). It was an immediate success. Viscose did not face competition from synthetic fibers, derived from petroleum, until 1938.
Yet, even today, viscose is still widely used in the textile industry. It is estimated that 99 million tons of wood pulp are used each year worldwide to produce viscose!
An “easy” subject
The artificial fibers obtained – in addition to their low cost – give a fluid, shiny, soft, fine, sometimes tight-fitting and pleasant to wear fabric. In addition, viscose fabrics are very resistant and fix the color well. They resist successive washes better than natural fibers, which can fade.
But viscose also has its limitations. Anyone who has tried to wash a garment made from fabric that has not been pre-washed knows that viscose can shrink in the wash, wrinkle easily, and deteriorate when exposed to light. In addition, its fibers do not absorb moisture or retain heat. They are therefore poorly suited for winter clothing and technical sportswear.
A chemical, polluting and wasteful manufacturing process
Presented as sustainable and biodegradable ecological alternatives to cotton and polyester, due to their natural origin, viscose is promising, but its manufacture has effects on the environment.
They promote deforestation
To provide the wood needed to produce these artificial materials (5 million tons), 70 million trees are cut down each year just to meet the demand of the textile industry. In fact, it takes about 1 kg of natural fibers to obtain 400 g of regenerated viscose fibers. And thousands of hectares of tropical forests are cut down to plant trees specifically used for the production of rayon. In addition, farmers practice monoculture which destroys biodiversity because it always draws the same nutrients from the soil and depletes it, forcing farmers to use pesticides and fertilizers.
A polluting transformation
The viscose process is very water-intensive during its manufacture: 400 to 11,000 litres of water are consumed to produce 1 kg of viscose. The wood pulp is dissolved in caustic soda baths to obtain a flaky mass which is mixed with carbon disulphide – toxic and flammable – to become a paste, then drawn into threads and woven. Finally, the filaments obtained are cooled in a bath of sulphates and sulphuric acid which allow the fibres to be fixed. In developing countries where viscose is manufactured, there is no reprocessing of chemical waste, so it is released into nature and rivers and pollutes ecosystems.
In addition, these aggressive chemicals remain partly present in fabrics made from viscose despite treatments (dyeing, printing, finishing, washing, etc.). Viscose is then toxic for the consumer after having been toxic for the workforce that made it.
There are ethical and ecological viscose
Despite this polluting manufacturing process , viscose is still widely used, including by fashion brands that claim to be ethical and eco-responsible .
From sustainable forests
Some viscose is made from bamboo or eucalyptus pulp from sustainably managed forests, which have the PEFE-FSE or FSC certificate. This certifies that the source of plant material is respectful of the environment and human labor. Stella McCartney uses viscose from sustainable Swedish forests.
A cleaner process
For the Changing Markets Foundation, designing cleaner viscose is not impossible. The organisation has therefore drawn up a roadmap for companies in the sector, highlighting the different ways to ensure a safer supply chain that respects people and the planet.
More and more fast fashion brands are committing to this path by signing this roadmap.
Lyocell, clean viscose
Viscose is increasingly being manufactured using the Lyocell (or Tencel) transformation process. This uses N-Methlymorpholine N-oxide (NMMO) as a solvent, which has the particularity of also being recyclable. The process thus operates in a quasi-closed circuit. In addition, the water is recovered and the plants providing the cellulose come from sustainably managed forests. Finally, Lyocell fibres are biodegradable.
A survey published on January 10, 2019, commissioned by the Changing Markets Foundation and the Clean Clothes Campaign from the Ipsos-Mori agency, revealed that 75% of French consumers think that clothing brands should provide information on their environmental commitments and that 72% of French people approve of the idea that clothing brands should be required to provide information on their viscose manufacturers and their impact on the environment. Despite efforts, we are still far from there!
