Manmade Organics

Everything that you need to know about Lyocell fabric!

At LV, we have a saying: ‘Buy the best, forget the rest!’. We love specialising in Italian made garments for this very reason, and by extension we love staying ahead of the curve with our fabric choices to give our customers the best value for money whilst maintaining our ethos of only trading in the highest quality pieces.

We’ve invested greatly over the past few years in manmade organic fabrics such as Lyocell (sustainability certified brand named ‘Tencel’) and Modal due to their green environmental properties and, frankly, the excellent quality of clothing that is made from these fibres. We get asked a lot ‘what exactly is so special about these fabrics?’, so we’ve put together this guide to give you the lowdown on the hottest new fabrics that will revolutionise the fashion industry!



What is Lyocell?

Lyocell and Modal are both high quality rayon fabrics that are made from cellulose plant fibres from trees such as eucalyptus and beech using a spun jet wash method.

They can be used in a huge range of ways, but are most popular in the production of long-lasting, quality clothing items. 

What are it’s properties?

Obviously manufacturer’s need good reasons to switch over to a new fabric from their tried and tested standard fabrics.
One of Lyocell’s celebrated properties is that it’s incredibly strong- Much stronger than plain cotton or even other rayon fabrics, especially when wet. This means that clothes can have a much longer shelf life than their cotton, silk or wool counterparts.

It naturally weaves into a lightweight, silky fabric that is amazingly crease resistant and can be easily dyed, so it’s easy to see why designers and manufacturers alike are starting to pick up this versatile fibre. 

Is it environmentally friendly?

Although it can be more expensive to produce per kilo against other well-used fibres such as cotton, lyocell is actually considered one of the most ethically sound fabrics in use today.
It is produced from sustainably sourced wood materials to make the pulp that is spun into the fibres, and it’s easily formed into fabrics that closely imitate suede, wool and leather, avoiding the ethical and environmental disadvantages of using animal fibres.

Lyocell is produced using non-toxic chemicals, unlike other similar fabrics. It’s production process is famously considered environmentally friendly due to the ‘closed-loop’ system used, which means that 99% of the chemicals used in production are recovered and reused with minimal emissions, and not discarded into waterways.

It also doesn’t require any bleaching at the production stage, unlike other natural fibres, because it's naturally pure white. It’s a hydrophilic fabric, meaning it’s incredibly absorbent and takes smaller amounts of dye very well, so again there are fewer chemicals used to make lyocell garments. It’s thought that eventually, lyocell fabrics will take over the cotton industry and revolutionise textile production.

Finally, due to the natural plant composition of the fibres, lyocell is biodegradable which will eventually have a huge impact of reducing the amounts of discarded clothing in landfill as more and more companies back the production of this incredible fabric! 

As a company, at LV we strive to do our very best to reduce our carbon footprint and invest in ethical fabrics and garments, so we adore stocking pieces made from this amazing textile!

Next time you order, check for the Tencel fabric component and make an investment in the future of fashion!