Canopy’s 2023 Hot Button Report Shows Majority of World’s MMCF Producers Now Green Shirt and Embracing Next Gen
November 21, 2023 – The highly-anticipated 2023 Hot Button Report, a leading fibre sourcing tool for the fashion sector, reveals strong gains for the world’s carbon-rich forests and for brands looking for man-made cellulosic fibre (MMCF) textiles that meet their rigorous sustainability targets. In addition to a 29% uptick in low-carbon, circular Next Gen1 commercial lines, the 2023 Hot Button reveals that 71% of the world’s MMCF producers (or 54% of global production) have now achieved the coveted green shirt rating. With the growth in green shirt producers, brands striving to meet their Scope 3 goals and comply with the recent EU Deforestation Regulations now have a greater choice of Next Gen options when sourcing from the majority of the world’s MMCF producers, and can be confident that they are unlikely to be sourcing at the expense of the world’s most climate critical forests.
This year’s Hot Button Report underlines a clear trend in the shift to Next Gen production: MMCF producers are eager to match brands’ commitment to be at the forefront of the Next Gen textile revolution. Almost all MMCF producers engaged with Canopy are now either investing in Next Gen R&D, initiating Next Gen pilot projects, and/or launching commercial-scale Next Gen products. Though still in the early stages of commercial scaling, Next Gen has the potential to displace millions of tonnes of forest fibre. Leading fashion and apparel companies such as Inditex/Zara, Mara Hoffman, PVH, and H&M, are already championing Next Gen textiles and integrating them into their commercial lines.
“We are pleased to report that green shirt producers now significantly outnumber those who continue to present known risk of sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests,” said Nicole Rycroft, Canopy’s Founder and Executive Director. “Congratulations to all of the green shirt producers for their leadership and it is exciting to witness the upswing in Next Gen adoption. The future of fashion is here, and it is decidedly lower carbon and Next Gen.”
There are now ten established commercial lines of Next Gen made with discarded textiles, four more than in 2021: Birla’s Liva Reviva, Daiwabo’s Recovis, products from Jilin, Lenzing’s REFIBRA™, Sateri’s Finex, Tangshan Sanyou’s Revisco, Yibin Grace’s ReGracell, and Xinxiang Chemical Fiber’s Eco-Bailu, and select offerings from E.Miroglio contain recycled cotton fibre. In addition, Eastman’s Naia ES Renew has launched a transitional Next Gen fibre.
Key highlights of the 2023 Hot Button Report:
- This year 20 of the world’s MMCF producers, or 71%, are now rated green shirt — they represent a full 54% of global production.
- Top performers are Aditya Birla with the highest score, Lenzing with the second-highest, and Tangshan Sanyou and Xinxiang Chemical Fiber (Bailu) tied for third.
- There has been a doubling of commercially available Next Gen MMCF lines in the past 24 months.
- Volumes of pulp in the Next Gen trials are higher this year compared to last year, and some producers are making improvements to their facilities to enable processing of larger volumes of MMCF fibre containing Next Gen pulp.
- Three additional MMCF producers attained a green shirt rating in 2023: Formosa, Nanjing Chemical Fibers, and Shandong Hongtaiding. Two of the already well-established green shirt producers have achieved the coveted dark green shirt, Yibin Grace and Acegreen — and several more are now on the cusp.
- Producers representing 78% of global MMCF production signed onto a letter to all member states of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, urging that they fully implement last year’s framework to protect at least 30% of the world’s land area by 2030.
- Four producers now use 90% or more FSC-certified wood fibre, and 57% of producers have increased their use of FSC-certified fibres over last year.
The Hot Button green shirt rating indicates that MMCF producers do not have a high risk of sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests. Producers that continue to have red in their shirts — be it in combination with other colours or full red — are assessed to present high risk of sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests. The report’s findings come as major players in the CanopyStyle initiative, now at 550 brands representing one trillion USD in annual revenue, are deepening their commitment to Next Gen and forest conservation.
View the interactive Hot Button Report here.
For more information, contact:
Laura Repas, Marketing Communications Specialist
Canopy
+1 416-729-7484
communications@canopyplanet.org
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 — including H&M, Walmart, Inditex/Zara, LVMH, and Scholastic — to develop cutting-edge environmental policies that transform unsustainable supply chains, spark innovative solutions, and protect our world’s remaining Ancient and Endangered Forests.
[1] Next Gen fibres are derived from recycled textiles, agricultural residues such as straw, and food-waste-derived microbial cellulose. These feedstocks provide low-carbon, low-impact, and circular alternatives to conventional virgin wood fibre. Next Gen fibres carry on average four tonnes less carbon per tonne of product and five times less impact on biodiversity than conventional forest-based products.
