Patagonia

Soft, durable TENCEL™ lyocell comes from wood pulp that is dissolved in a nontoxic organic solvent before being turned into fabric.

TENCEL® is a branded lyocell fiber that comes from the pulp of trees. The solution is extruded through fine holes to produce fiber and the solvent and water are recycled in a closed-loop process — more than 99% of the solvent is recovered and reused.

TENCEL™ lyocell can be used in place of other regenerated cellulose fibers such as viscose rayon. The benefits of using TENCEL® lyocell include the traceable and sustainable origin of the wood pulp, and the use of a closed loop solvent and water recycling process. In addition, TENCEL® lyocell is a high-tenacity cellulosic fiber, which gives high strength properties to the fabric.

Patagonia uses both traditional virgin TENCEL® and REFIBRA® TENCEL in some of our products. REFIBRA incorporates recycled pre-consumer cotton scraps meaning fewer trees need to be harvested to create fiber.

Our goal is that all the TENCEL® fiber used in Patagonia products is generated from cellulose waste streams rather than from virgin materials.