Kuura fibre recognised in Canopy’s sustainability ranking
Metsä Group’s Kuura cellulose fibre has achieved the highest rating - ‘green shirt’ - in environmental organisation Canopy’s annual Hot Button Ranking.
The tool is used in the textile and fashion industry to assess the sustainability of wood-based textile fibre supply chains.
Niklas von Weymarn, CEO of Metsä Spring, Metsä Group’s innovation company, said: “The wood that is used as raw material for Kuura comes from certified, sustainably managed forests close to the Äänekoski bioproduct mill in Finland.
“The positive results from the environmental assessment will steer the development of the Kuura fibre and foster interest in it on the global market."
Kuura is produced at a demo plant jointly owned by Metsä Group and ITOCHU Corporation.
Ryoma Omuro, a general manager at ITOCHU Textile Company, said: “It’s rare to receive a ‘green shirt’ rating in the first audit. This is proof of the sustainable origins of Kuura.”
Kuura is still in a research and development phase, which involves testing and developing the production process at the Äänekoski demo plant and testing market interest.
The plant can produce a maximum of one tonne of textile fibre per day. Metsä Group will consider investing in a larger textile fibre mill, if the feasibility of the manufacturing method and market interest in Kuura can be proved. A larger textile fibre mill would be integrated to a bioproduct mill.
Image: Kuura textiles. Credit: Metsä
