Is wheat straw the next big thing in natural fibers? Maybe so, according to a new report from environmental nonprofit Canopy.
The report, “From Wheat Straw to Wardrobes: Fashioning a New Fiber Future,” outlines the results of a pilot project that tested whether pulp made from Indian wheat straw could replace wood-derived pulp to create viscose and lyocell fibers. Dubbed Project Latvus, the pilot was a collaborative effort between Canopy and a group of other nonprofits, manufacturers and brands, such as Fashion for Good, H&M Group, Chemopolis and Textile Genesis, among others.
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During the pilot, wheat straw was baled in Punjab and Haryana, India, under the supervision of the Laudes Foundation, a global nonprofit that works to combat climate change, nature loss and social inequality. Over two collection cycles, harvesters refined their process to ensure the material was free of contaminants such as dirt and stones.
From there, the bales were shipped to Chemopolis in Oulu, Finland, for processing. While some of the straw from India was not high enough quality for processing, Finnish straw was added to fill out the shortfall. The wheat straw was then cut into smaller pieces and pretreated to remove dust and other fine particles, and then bleached.
The pulp was then dissolved and spun at the Thuringian Institute of Textile and Plastics Research in Germany, and then sent to Portuguese yarn manufacturer Inovafil to create yarns meeting the specifications of brand partners H&M Group, C&A and Reformation. The yarn was then woven by several different partner companies, such as Shahi and Filpucci, into single-jersey, plain-weave fabric, warp-knit mesh and sweater material. Garments made of these fabrics were then tested for adhesion to design requirements.
That testing found that wheat straw lyocell fabric is a viable alternative to wood-pulp versions for garment-making, particularly in knit and sweater applications. Reformation conducted a direct aesthetic and technical comparison between Project Latvus fabric and that made with wood pulp, concluding the wheat straw fabric was comparable in purity and presented no major quality concerns.
“The resulting material analysis showed the Latvus fiber to be a strong aesthetic match to conventional lyocell with commercial viability,” Reformation said in the report.
While overall successful, the pilot did encounter a few obstacles, such as lower pulp yield than would be expected at an industrial scale, along with a few issues with yarn and fabric production that Canopy said will inform future efforts. Lower pulp yields were mostly attributed to pretreatment losses and expected to significantly improve as batch sizes increase. And production issues such as slight yarn hairiness, lower strength than conventional lyocell and problems with colorfastness and dimensional stability after repeated washing are all likely to get worked out as the program continues, according to Canopy.
Canopy said these issues pale in comparison to the benefits of using wheat straw-derived fibers over wood-pulp versions. According to the nonprofit, 300 million trees are cut down annually to create these fibers via conventional methods, including trees in climate-critical and biodiversity-rich forests. Canopy said leaving those forests untouched is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce carbon emissions and support the global 30 by 30 biodiversity target, which aims to protect 30 percent of the world’s land and waters by 2030.
On top of that, repurposing wheat straw also helps reduce the burning of agricultural residues, 90 million metric tons of which (primarily rice and wheat straw)are incinerated in India each year. A study by the Agricultural Research Institute estimated that burning agricultural residue releases 149.24 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, 9 million metric tons of carbon monoxide, .25 million metric tons of sulphur oxides and 1.28 million metric tons of particulate matter into the atmosphere each year.
“Project Latvus shows that the future of fibre is already here. While continued scale-up is needed to optimize efficiency and close the price difference, the direction is clear—Next Gen MMCFs are ready for the next stage of commercial adoption,” said Nicole Rycroft, founder and executive director of Canopy. “By diversifying feedstocks beyond forests, we have a real opportunity to build a more resilient, circular, and low-impact textile industry.”
With this pilot completed, Canopy said the partners will move forward with a techno-economic assessment to evaluate the financial viability of scaling wheat straw-based lyocell production. Then the organization will optimize production processes based on the experiences of the pilot and work with partners to scale up the production. From there, educating consumers will be the final step in making this new fiber widely accepted.
“To bolster market support and empower consumers to make informed choices about the fabrics they wear and use, it’s necessary to develop a clear set of claims that accurately convey the benefits of lyocell derived from agricultural residues,” the report said.
