TENCEL™ is the trade name for the modal fiber all our products are made from.  It is manufactured by Lenzing in Austria and the name means 'Ten' for the tenacity of the fabric and 'cel' because it is made from cellulose or wood fibre.

TENCEL™ Modal fibers are extracted from naturally grown Beech wood by an environmentally responsible integrated pulp-to-fiber process, which is self-sufficient in energy and recovers co-products from component parts of the wood. 100% of the raw Beech wood material is converted into cellulose and other bio-based, bio-refinery products, and the surplus energy is recycled into the production of other fibers at the same production site.

The European Beech forests grow naturally without the use of chemical fertilizers or artificial irrigation. Lenzing only use wood from unprotected forests and every tree is regenerated so anything pulled down is offset with replanting.

The production of TENCEL Modal actually uses 95% less water to produce when compared to cotton. Lenzing reuse 100% of the water used in the production process as well as other materials.

This flexible fiber is renowned for its exceptional softness, and the resultant fabrics display excellent colour retention, breathability, and moisture management. All TENCEL™ standard Modal fibers are biodegradable and compostable under industrial, home soil and marine conditions, thus they can fully revert back to nature. So once you are finished with your knickers you can cut off the lace and put them in the compost. They come from nature and go back to nature.

From their botanic origin, to the low environmental impact of production, to eventual biodegradability on disposal, TENCEL™ fibers exemplify sustainability in the textile industry. 

You can read more about Lenzing’s remarkable innovations in the pursuit of creating sustainable answers for the clothing industry as we all work towards a better future, at www.lenzing.com.

Whilst the TENCEL™ fibres are 100% biodegradable, the elastane we currently use is not (we have to have 5% elastane for stretch). However we are working with a new supplier to provide a biodegradable elastane… so watch this space!

If you are interested to learn more about TENCEL™, follow this link to read our blog Sustainability, the Stripe & Stare way.