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Nanollose’s Nullarbor is one example – a tree-free lyocell fibre, made from food waste. And while to date, the company has only produced a single prototype garment, this is certainly a fibre to watch closely.
The first pilot production, in February 2022, produced 250 kilograms of Nullarbor-20 Forest-Friendly fibre.
The pilot run was made from a blend of 20% microbial cellulose and 80% conventional wood pulp.
Nullarbor offers great promise – a strong, plastic-free fibre made from waste feedstock. But it’s not yet commercially available, and while the creation of a sweater made entirely from microbial cellulose is a powerful story, a one-off piece for a fashion summit suggests that widespread availability is still some way off. With that said, Nanollose has ambitious growth targets and its partnerships with major players like Birla Cellulose and Inditex show its potential.
Nanollose has variously described its innovative fabric as stronger and finer than lyocell, but further details are scarce. Lyocell is traditionally lightweight, soft, strong, tear resistant, breathable and moisture wicking, but you should confirm that Nullarbor retains these attributes, despite its coconut waste origins. Pure lyocell can also be delicate and crease easily, with demanding care instructions.
At this stage, there isn’t a fixed price point or even price prediction for Nullarbor. While traditional lyocell has a price premium on cotton and synthetics it still remains affordable, and the high yield of microbial cellulose suggests that it could have a competitive cost once scale is reached. The fact that it can be retrofitted for existing textile manufacturing equipment is also encouraging. Furthermore, Nanollose reports that it expects textile producers to be able to appeal to different segments by using varying blends of different fibres – in which case, it is important to always consider how these blends will impact your product’s end-of-life.
While Nullarbor’s production process reduces land and water requirements, the process for making lyocell can be energy intensive. Finding producers who use renewable energy sources, or at the very least transparency on the carbon footprint of the finished fibre, would allow designers and consumers to fairly weigh up the environmental impact of the product. While it uses wood sources, True Carbon Zero Lyocell from Lenzing may be an attractive alternative.
