TENCEL- EUCALYPTUS FIBRE

Eucalyptus (Tencel) has the same benefits as Bamboo. It grows very fast (up to 20 meters in only 6-7 days) and doesn’t need pesticides, insecticides or any other chemicals, such as herbicides or fertilizers. Water consumption is minimal (up to 10-20 times less than that for cotton) and artificial irrigation is not required (rainwater is enough). The production yield of eucalyptus is ten times higher than cotton’s. Ten T-shirts can be produced with a Eucalyptus planation of six square meters. Whereas the same ground space yields only one T-shirt. The eucalyptus used by CORA Happywear comes from different European countries; however, it grows in areas that are not allocated for other cultivations and at no expense of food production.

The extraction process of eucalyptus fibre is quite similar to the bamboo one. For its production, CORA Happywear chooses a eucalyptus fibre from Lenzing - the Tencel - which is obtained through a very sustainable process. The eucalyptus tree wood is smashed to get the pulp, which is processed through multiple steps. The first one is dipping it in a solution of water and N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (being less damaging, it replaces the sulfuric acid). This step is done in order to obtain the so-called viscose, which is then pressed on paper-thin nozzles and dipped into a basin, filled with a solution of water and N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide, it hardens the viscose and turns it back into pulp from eucalyptus.
Eventually, the fibres are spun to obtain yarn. This process is completely sustainable and beneficial to the environment: the solvents and water used in the process are 100% recovered and reintroduced into it (closed-loop process).