April 8, 2025. The first recycled textile dissolving pulp facility in China was inaugurated yesterday by Yibin Grace, a prominent manufacturer of man-made cellulosic fibre (MMCF) products, including lyocell and viscose staple fiber/filament yarn. This is a major turning point in the fashion industry’s transition to a circular, more robust viscose supply chain. It is anticipated that the new pilot facility will generate high-quality, low-carbon dissolving pulp that can be utilised in a range of MMCF products using post-industrial and post-consumer textile waste from supply chain partners.
Yibin’s factory, which has an initial capacity of 1500 tonnes annually, was constructed to meet the growing demand for circular materials to replace high-carbon forest fibre in the fashion industry. Building on the groundbreaking work of Next Gen inventors like Circulose and in line with China’s government targets of reducing textile waste by 30% by 2030, Yibin plans to increase its Next Gen production to 60,000 tonnes by 2027 with market backing.
Nicole Rycroft of the environmental non-profit organisation Canopy stated, “Canopy is thrilled with Yibin Grace’s leadership with the launch of China’s first Next Gen textile dissolving pulp mill.” Growing circular manufacturing puts the industry in a position to take advantage of markets seeking low-impact resources and weather supply volatility brought on by an increase in forest fires. We anticipate Yibin becoming a pioneer in the textile industry and bringing this technology to a commercial scale. This is only the start!
Yibin Grace, which is based in Sichuan, China, can produce 450,000 tonnes of viscose filament yarn, lyocell products, and viscose staple fibre annually. Under the ReGracell brand, it was also among the first manufacturers of MMCF to use cellulose recycled pulp in its viscose filament and viscose staple fibre lines. Yibin Grace received a Dark Green Shirt in the 2024 Hot Button Report and has been collaborating with Canopy since 2018. There is no known risk associated with sourcing from endangered or ancient forests.