Dr Marina Crnoja-Cosic: A direct connection to nature
Viscose fibre producer Kelheim fibres announced Dr Marina Crnoja-Cosic as its new head of new business development in August. She previously worked at Lenzing and led the team that began using that company’s Tencel fibre in footwear in 2015.
When and why did you become interested in cellulosic fibres?
As a young student, when I was studying textile chemistry in Zagreb, I first came into contact with cellulosic fibres. from then on, I began to see them everywhere in daily life and I was impressed by the manifold opportunities those fibres offer. now I have been dealing with manmade cellulosic fibres for 20 years professionally.
What is your assessment of the share of cellulosic fibres in the wider fibre market at the moment?
At the moment, the share of cellulosic fibres is a little more than 6% of worldwide fibre production. I’m convinced that share will rise as the worldwide rise in plastic consumption leads to an undeniably negative impact on the environment and the call for eco-friendly alternatives is getting louder. Cellulosic fibres can be that alternative: they are biodegradable but at the same time offer opportunities for functionalisation and modification, allowing us to open up new fields of application with more sustainable solutions.
How would you sum up the arguments in favour of cellulosic fibres compared to petroleum-based fibres?
The most important point that cellulosic fibres have in their favour is that they offer a direct connection to nature. The fibres are bio-based in terms of the raw material we use to produce them and biodegradable and compostable at the end of their product lifecycle. and, if we go further, there’s also the possibility of recycling or even upcycling cellulosic fibres. These aspects are important for more and more consumers and can help to solve the environmental challenges of our time.
What about cellulosic fibres compared to other fibres of natural origin?
In comparison with other fibres of natural origin, manmade cellulosic fibres, particularly viscose fibres, can be tailor-made to a customer’s specific needs. In contrast to naturally grown fibres, we can control the fibre’s length, width and cross-section and maintain a high fibre quality. Viscose fibres offer a range of possibilities for adding functionalities to the fibre without any compromise on sustainability. This opens the window to a magic world of possibilities for different applications. usually other natural fibres are ideal partners in blends with viscose fibres, which allows us to develop end products for different applications that can be completely bio-based and biodegradable.
A July 2020 report called ‘Breaking the Plastic Wave’ says it will be impossible to prevent levels of plastic waste in the oceans from rising between now and 2040 by recycling plastic; it says it will also be necessary for consumers to buy fewer plastic products and for alternative materials to take the place of 5 million tonnes of plastic per year in products that we do need to keep buying. What can Kelheim Fibres and you do to make sure cellulosic fibres claim a share of those 5 million tonnes?
Recycling plastic is a good approach but the recycled material is still plastic. To substitute plastic with other, biodegradable materials, we need a joint effort involving many parties. We also need, and we are already seeing, a change in the consumer’s mindset in this area. Other than that, political authorities have to support, with laws, a reduction in the use of plastic. at the same time, research and development to find alternatives to plastic should be supported through funding programmes. and finally, the industry in general has to play an important role. The challenge is to develop sustainable and biodegradable products that offer the same functionalities and the same level of performance as synthetic alternatives. This applies to all areas, but above all for products that are designed for one-time use only such as packaging materials or hygiene products. Viscose fibre producers must invest in innovation. That is exactly what Kelheim fibres is doing. We have a great range of functional fibres that can be used in different applications from classical fashion to hygiene products. Today it’s more important than ever to look beyond the products and see how we can support sustainability with, for example, local production, by making our fibres work from ‘cradle to cradle’, by offering alternatives to plastic products and by educating the consumer. all that is only possible if we maintain a close dialogue with our customers and with our partners in the supply chain and if we continue to search for new ways of cooperating with new and existing partners.
What are the main areas in which you believe Kelheim and other producers can improve the sustainability of cellulosic fibres?
We want to offer individual solutions for a healthy lifestyle, and we want to protect the environment for future generations. With these goals in mind we are developing sustainable and functional fibres for new application areas. But that is just one side of the coin. While our environmental performance is already very good (we have an energy-efficient, combined heat and power plant, and extremely high recovery rates in closed-loop production processes), we are constantly looking for new technologies or raw materials that will help us to improve even further. We have been awarded with a green Shirt in our very first Canopy hot Button ranking this year [recognition from not-for-profit organisation Canopy that Kelheim is showing leadership in supporting global forest conservation] and we are currently undergoing the certification process for EMaS [the European union’s Eco-management and audit Scheme] which we expect to be finished before the end of 2020. EMaS is the world’s most demanding system for sustainable environmental management. We are not afraid to pursue new ways and tread new paths. On the contrary. and because we are convinced that we can achieve more by combining our forces with others, we will boost cooperation with existing and new partners and encourage them to do the same.
CREDIT: KELHEIM FIBRES/REINHARD SCHMID
