Birla Cellulose, a pioneer in sustainable textile solutions, is revolutionizing the perception of Open End (OE) yarn with its groundbreaking product, Excel.

Contrary to the prevailing belief that OE yarn is only suitable for low-end applications using cotton waste, Birla Cellulose has unlocked the true potential of OE yarn, particularly in home textile business and denim applications.

By combining OE yarn structure with exceptional strength and whiteness, Birla Cellulose has provided spinning mills with an innovative solution to reduce their reliance on virgin cotton, increase waste utilization, and achieve superior results throughout the value chain.

Need for Sustainability

Sustainability is a pressing concern in the fashion industry, with the need to address global warming and reduce greenhouse emissions. Mechanical recycling of pre and post-consumer textile waste has emerged as a greener option in the textile sector.

However, shredding and opening textile waste often results in inferior-quality recycled fibres. The properties of mechanically recycled cotton hard waste fibres typically include:

• Lower average fibre length
• Reduced span length
• Higher neps per gram
• Weaker fibre strength

Introducing Excel Fibres

To overcome the limitations associated with recycled fibres, Birla Cellulose has identified its Excel fibre (lyocell fibre) as the ideal partner for blending with mechanically recycled cotton.

Excel fibre or the lyocell fibre offers uniform length, denier, whiteness, and higher strength in yarn manufacturing. Thus effectively compensating for the shortcomings of mechanically recycled cotton fibres. The resulting products, crafted from a blend of recycled cotton and Birla Excel, offer numerous advantages such as:

• Enhanced yarn strength
• Increased productivity
• Ability to spin finer rotor yarn
• Soft touch and feel
• Vibrant colour shades
• Improved fabric lustre
• Wide range of applications

Partnering With Sri Kumaraguru Mill (SKG)

Recognizing the immense potential for growth in recycling textiles and promoting sustainable products, Birla Cellulose partnered with Sri Kumaraguru Mill (SKG) in November 2021.

Before collaborating with Birla Cellulose, SKG Mill primarily produced recycled cotton yarn using a cotton blend. However, following the introduction of Birla Excel (lyocell yarn) as a value-added product for mechanical recycling yarn spinning, SKG Mill seized the opportunity and began blending Birla Excel with recycled cotton.

Through meticulous process optimization, they achieved remarkable yarn quality and productivity. The success story of Birla Excel or the lyocell yarn in mechanical recycled yarn production is evident from the consumption data over the past three years:

SKG Mill now offers OE recycled yarn ranging from 6s to 34s for various applications such as bed linen, covers, shirting, trousers, denim, towels, ladies' dress material, and knits. They have also garnered recognition from leading brands, including IKEA.

By successfully replacing the 2/20s yarn requirement of IKEA with 1/10s OE recycled cotton: Excel-60/40 blend, SKG Mill has demonstrated that yarn manufacturing from a blend of mechanical recycled cotton and Birla Excel is of superior quality. As a result, brands are willing to pay a higher price for this premium product in the textile business.

Birla Cellulose takes great pride in its collaboration with SKG Mill and the joint effort to promote recycled yarns to brands. Together, they are spearheading sustainable textile solutions and driving innovation in the industry.