Modern Living Sensibilities: Exploring TENCEL™’s Rise in Home Textiles

Craving comfort and solace from turbulent world events, for many, home has become much more than a place of shelter. The global pandemic gave way to the idea of creating a living space that fulfills our emotional and physical needs, while reflecting personality and the values we hold. As such, trends in home design and home textiles have also transformed, with consumers prioritising wellness, sustainability, and functionality.

In fact, HeimTextil, the leading home textile trade fair has gone so far as designating the theme for 2024/2025 home textile trends ‘New Sensitivity’. The theme considers the impact when creating a product, with priorities on striking balance and maintaining natural ecosystems. Guided by the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goal, New Sensitivity reflects a larger transformation underway for the home textiles sector as brands and manufacturers bring forward innovative solutions to help address issues of textile waste, material impact and circularity. Evidently, consumers also place significant importance on such issues, and in response, retailers have more than doubled the number of home goods described with sustainable attributes according to Edited.

For the home sector, this has resulted in a rise in bioengineered or plant-based textiles. Hemp is becoming more mainstream, as seen in recent homeware collections by retailers such as Zara Home and eucalyptus wood is another quickly becoming one of the more sustainable materials for construction due to its rapid growth ability. There are also wood-based fibers such as TENCEL™ Lyocell and TENCEL™ Modal, which have become increasingly prevalent in home products such as bedding, towels, curtains and rugs due to the environmental benefits they represent.

Manufactured by leading global fiber producer Lenzing, TENCEL™ branded fibers have emerged as a strong fiber contender in the home textiles market, renowned for its highly resource-efficient closed-loop production process*, wood-based sources and blending properties. Ideal for home furnishings, TENCEL™ fibers are also celebrated for their adaptability across seasons, offering both cooling properties in summer and warmth retention in winter.

For summer, TENCEL™ branded lyocell fibers is a particularly sought-after blending partner for natural fibers like hemp and linen. Enhancing the functional and sustainable aspects of natural fibers like cotton, linen and hemp, materials containing 30% or more TENCEL™ Lyocell have been shown to improve wrinkle recovery rate of fabrics made with linen and the smooth surface of the fibers also helps to decrease any visible wrinkling, even after repeated washing and drying**. In Urbanara’s Torreira Bedding collection, TENCEL™ branded lyocell and linen are blended together for the balance of breathability and moisture management, features which lend themselves to warm weather or hot sleepers.

At the same time, TENCEL™ fibers are increasingly recognised for their adaptability in creating winter home textiles. Products such as flannel bed linen made with TENCEL™ Lyocell filling fibers and comforters keep the user warm all throughout the season. TENCEL™ branded fibers also similarly blend well with wool to create home collections geared for colder seasons. TENCEL™ branded fibers are also proven to work year-round in “all seasons” products like Martha Stewart’s Hungarian Goose Down Comforter.

“Last year, we launched a collection with Jacaranda, a luxury UK-based carpentry brand to introduce handwoven carpets and rugs crafted from TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers.” said Gamze Stöger, Global Business Development Manager Home and Interior Textile at Lenzing. “Importantly, TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers permit heat transfer, making them exemplary for underfloor heating in colder seasons. As extreme weather events become more common, these thermal regulating properties of TENCEL™ in textiles prove invaluable for home comfort.”

Today, responsible textiles have become an increasingly popular alternative to their synthetic counterpart – and due to the inherent qualities and production process, blending fibers with TENCEL™ branded fibers can help to reduce the overall environmental impact of final fabrics.

All standard TENCEL™ Lyocell branded fibers are certified biodegradable and compostable*** from controlled, certified wood sources. For heightened circularity, TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers are also available with REFIBRA™ technology, which involves upcycling cotton scraps from old garments to create a recycled cotton and wood pulp. Additionally, TENCEL™'s patented Fiber Identification technology ensures full traceability of TENCEL™ fibers throughout the value chain.

* TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal fiber production processes are continuously refined to maximize resource efficiency and minimize environmental impact at every stage. Consequently, carbon emissions and water consumption of TENCEL™ fibers are up to 50% lower compared to generic lyocell and modal fibers.

**Blending with 30% or more TENCEL™ Lyocell ­fibers improves the wrinkle recovery rate of curtain fabrics made of natural ­fibers, such as cotton and linen, as measured by the PhabrOmeter® test.

***Results based on LCA standards (ISO 14040/44) and available via Higg MSI (Version 3.4)