Wheat straw emerges as alternative to wood pulp for viscose & lyocell fiber production

Could wheat straw serve as an alternative to wooden pulp for the production of quality viscose and lyocell fibers for the fashion industry? According to a new report from environmental nonprofit Canopy, the answer is yes.    The report, ‘From Wheat Straw to Wardrobes: Fashioning a new fibre future,’ presents the findings of a pilot project, Project Latvus, which aimed to find out whether pulp produced from Indian wheat straw could be used to create high-quality viscose and lyocell fibres instead of traditional wood-derived pulp. The report's findings highlight that wheat straw pulp is a viable replacement for wood-based pulp in viscose and lyocell fibre production, and can also be used to produce a range of yarns and fabrics that are suitable for multiple product applications.

Canopy report explores wheat straw as a replacement for lyocell in MMCFs

Today, wood-derived pulp is used to create man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCFs), including viscose and lyocell. These fibers are usually marketed as having less of an overall environmental impact in comparison to synthetic fibers like polyester and other resource-intensive natural fibers like cotton, as they are produced from wooden pulp taken from cultivated forests. However, as demand for MMCFs continues to grow, so does their impact on the planet.  

Studies found that more than 300 million trees are logged annually for the production of these fibers, including from climate-critical and biodiversity-rich forests. Stopping deforestation is one of the fastest and most cost-effective measures to reduce carbon emissions while supporting the global “30x30” biodiversity target, which aims to protect 30 percent of the world’s land and waters by 2030.

Project Latvus was launched to address these challenges, turning agricultural waste into a feedstock for low-impact lyocell fibres. The pilot brought together 13 partners across the value chain: nonprofits Canopy and Fashion for Good; fashion brands C&A, H&M Group, and Reformation; supply chain innovators and manufacturers Chempolis, TITK, Inovafil, Yee Chain, Shahi, Filpucci, and DBL; traceability provider TextileGenesis; and wheat straw supplier A2P Energy. The pilot builds on Laudes Foundation's 2021 report ‘Spinning Future Threads,’ which noted the potential use of agri-residues in South and Southeast Asia as a raw material for textiles. 

The pilot ran across seven stages, collecting wheat straw in India before it was refined and shipped to Chempolis in Finland for pretreatment and processing into pulp. The pulp was then dissolved and spun into lyocell fiber at TITK, and Inovafil turned it into four yarns tailored to the brands' specifics. Supply-chain partners then wove and knitted these into different fabrics: a single jersey for t-shirts, Filpucci-spun yarn for Reformation's sweaters, plain-weave for Shahi's blouses, and warp-knit mesh from Yee Chain. Each brand produced and evaluated prototype garments, and TextileGenesis ran a traceability pilot mapping the full farm-to-garment journey.

The benefits of using wheat straw for MMCFs production

Reformation carried out a comparison using a conventional lyocell reference fiber from their supplier’s material library and noted that the Pilot Latvus fibre was a “strong aesthetic match” with commercial viability. Early access to baby cones also let them refine dye formulations, which ultimately led to a successful match in saturation, hue, and performance. That said, there were some small but expected speed bumps in the pilot. Pulp yields were lower than industrial-scale targets (around 24 percent versus an expected 37–39 percent), mostly due to pretreatment losses that should improve with larger batch sizes. Shahi, one supplier, reported issues with colourfastness and dimensional stability after repeated washing, though other partners didn't encounter those problems, suggesting they are tied to specific finishing/dyeing setups rather than the fiber itself. 

Canopy notes that alternative feedstocks like wheat straw are important for the diversification of fibers within the fashion industry, next to reducing reliance on forests, and strengthening supply chain resilience. India, the world’s second-largest agricultural economy, has the potential to become a leader in the production of next-generation MMCFs like wheat straw, because of its significant supply of agricultural residue. Studies noted that farmers burn more than 90 million tons of crop residue annually, most of it being rice and wheat straw, resources that could be used to create low-impact fibers for textiles instead. Crop burning is connected to up to 40 percent of Delhi's air pollution, which cuts life expectancy in affected regions by as much as 10 years, and pushes PM2.5 (tiny air pollution particles that can harm human health) levels in Northern India to 15 to 45 times the WHO's safety guidelines. 

Scaling the pilot could offer new income streams for farming communities in Northern India, while strengthening local manufacturing capacity, reducing air pollution, and supporting the growth of a more circular textile industry. Canopy is now calling on other fashion brands to support the scaling of MMCFs like wheat straw, as pooled demand will undoubtedly help ensure these materials reach price parity and industrial scale quickly.

“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, in a statement. “By diversifying feedstocks beyond forests, we have a real opportunity to build a more resilient, circular, and low-impact textile industry.”