Fiber Definitions — textile fibers, yarn fibers and fiber properties from Apparel Search
Lyocell is a fiber made from wood pulp cellulose. It was first manufactured in 1992 by Acordis Cellulosic Fibers, Inc. The product is manufactured under trademarked brand names including Tencel, marketed by Tencel Ltd, and Lenzing Lyocell, from the Lenzing-based fiber manufacturer Lenzing AG. The Federal Trade Commission defines lyocell as a cellulose fabric that is obtained by an organic solvent spinning process, and classifies the fiber as a sub-category of rayon.
The Federal Trade Commission defines lyocell as "a cellulose fabric that is obtained by an organic solvent spinning process". It classifies the fiber as a sub-category of rayon.
The fiber is used in the production of many clothes, such as jeans, trousers and coats.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lyocell). 10/30/04 |
Lyocell belongs to the regenerated cellulose family: its raw material is wood pulp cellulose, the same plant polymer that cotton carries in almost pure form, dissolved and re-formed as a continuous fiber. The defining feature in the FTC's definition is the process, an organic solvent spinning process, which is what separates lyocell from the older rayon route while leaving the two fibers substantially similar in chemical composition. That combination, familiar chemistry and a different process, is why lyocell needed its own labelling decision: a fiber that is a sub-category of rayon for classification, but behaves differently in the wash, would mislead buyers if it were labelled simply as rayon, and would lose its advantage if it could not be named at all. The 1996 FTC decision resolved that by allowing the name lyocell on the fiber content labels the law requires, aligning United States practice with the other countries and international standards organisations that already allowed the name.
The practical difference is care. Rayon must be dry-cleaned; lyocell is washable and is more resistant to shrinkage and wrinkling, so a lyocell garment can be laundered at home and keeps its dimensions and surface better through washing. For clothing, that removes the main objection buyers have historically had to regenerated cellulose fibers, which drape and feel like natural fibers but demanded professional care. The fiber is used in the production of many clothes, such as jeans, trousers and coats, garments that are washed regularly and expected to hold their shape, exactly the service in which washability and resistance to shrinkage and wrinkling are worth the most. Lyocell therefore competes not on novelty of chemistry but on the whole ownership experience: a cellulose fiber, from wood pulp, that behaves in the laundry more like a hard-wearing everyday cloth.
Lyocell is substantially similar in chemical composition to rayon and is classified by the FTC as a sub-category of rayon, but rayon must be dry-cleaned while lyocell is washable and is more resistant to shrinkage and wrinkling. The FTC also noted that other countries and international standards organisations allow use of the name lyocell.
On April 12, 1996, the Federal Trade Commission announced it would allow clothing manufacturers and other marketers to use the name lyocell in the fiber content labels required by law on garments and other textile products sold in the United States.
Lyocell was first manufactured in 1992 by Acordis Cellulosic Fibers, Inc. It is sold under the trademarked brand name Tencel by Tencel Ltd and as Lenzing Lyocell by the Lenzing-based manufacturer Lenzing AG.