Leading Textile Producer Tangshan Sanyou Commits to Scaling Up the Production of Low-Carbon Alternative Fibres 

Top Man-Made Cellulosic Fibre (MMCF) producer, Tangshan Sanyou, announces commitment to manufacture 200,000 tons of circular, low-carbon MMCF adjusted to market demands 

Shanghai, China, August 28, 2023 – Today, leading MMCF producer Tangshan Sanyou, textile-to-textile recycling company Renewcell, and award-winning environmental not-for-profit Canopy, shared a stage at the Shanghai Yarn Expo to announce their shared commitment to grow China’s production of circular, low-impact MMCF derived from recycled textiles. Sanyou has committed to scale up the production of low-carbon, circular fibre, up to 200,000 tons per year, adjusted to market demands, which would be a nearly five-fold increase from their previous Next Gen production. It’s an effort designed to meet the growing brand need for low-impact textiles, whilst also contributing to China’s ambitious climate targets, and supporting the conservation of climate-critical Ancient and Endangered Forests around the world.   

“We are very happy to help the fashion sector meet their sustainability goals in MMCF sourcing while also investing in the scaling of innovative products that Next Gen ventures like Renewcell create,” said Mr Dongbin Zhang, Deputy General Manager of Tangshan Sanyou Xingda Chemical Fibre Co., Ltd. “Tangshan Sanyou is committed to collaborating on Canopy’s goal to save forests, and China’s goals for climate neutrality, while continuing to provide high quality products to our clients.” 

“Canopy’s work to boost the production of low carbon, forest-friendly textiles at the pace and scale needed to address climate change and preserve biodiversity is made possible only through partnerships with forward-thinking companies like Tangshan Sanyou and Renewcell,” said Nicole Rycroft, Executive Director of Canopy. “Sanyou’s leadership in building a supply of lower-impact, Next Gen textiles comes at a time when brands both globally and domestically are embracing new climate regulations whilst looking to fill the shrinking fibre basket with more sustainable, Next Gen options.” 

Over 300 million trees are cut down every year for fashion fabrics like rayon/viscose, many from the most climate and biodiversity-critical forests on the planet. Instead of cutting down trees to make t-shirts, dresses, and yoga pants, Next Gen solutions utilize low-carbon alternative materials that would otherwise go to waste – from discarded textiles to wheat straw to food scraps. Compared to conventional wood fibre, Next Gen Solutions have roughly five times less impact on biodiversity, 95 - 130% less greenhouse gas emissions, 88 - 100% less land use, and four tonnes less CO2/tonne of product.  

“Commitments like the one made by Tangshan Sanyou today are what will help the MMCF industry scale up the use of innovative fibres like CIRCULOSE®, and help solve two problems at once: sourcing pressure on forests, and textile waste,” said Patrik Lundstrom, CEO of Renewcell. “We are excited to work with our colleagues at Tangshan Sanyou to meet their clients’ need for innovative, circular MMCF textiles.” 

Tangshan Sanyou’s commitment and efforts in the recycling and re-use of waste textiles will help to align China’s textile sector with the dual-carbon objectives, as well as China’s visionary plan to recycle a quarter of its textile waste and use it to produce two million tonnes of recycled fibre annually by 2025.

Read this release in Chinese here.

About Canopy 

Canopy is a solutions-driven not-for-profit environmental organization dedicated to protecting forests, species, and climate. Canopy has collaborated with more than 900 companies to develop cutting-edge environmental policies that transform unsustainable supply chains, spark innovative solutions, and protect our world’s remaining Ancient and Endangered Forests. www.canopyplanet.org