By Zhao Zihan

Austrian cellulosic fiber manufacturer Lenzing has announced a partnership with The Woolmark Company， which will see Tencel？ blended with Merino wool for sports and outdoor wear applications.

Tencel？ and Merino wool make a combination of performance and luxury， and this “combination of performance and luxury” was widely highlighted during the textile trade shows at the start of the year. The result is a range of products featuring a type of wool capable of better managing humidity， without affecting the specific feel of merino wool.

“The composite is chiefly used in the active wear segment，” indicated Lenzings Commercial Director， Robert van de Kerkhof. “As a result， for the coming season our activities will be concentrated on woven materials. Our objective is to target this segment presenting high quality fabrics for suits， clothes and formal shirts. We are working with wool composites for a segment， the high-end one， with significant margins， and we are interested in the concept of expanding this activity.”

Tencel？ comes from Plant Ecology， while Merino wool is a protein fiber. The combination of such two fibers is super perfect. Tencel？， smooth and drape like silk， becomes more luxurious when blended with Merino wool， thereby creating more fashionable clothing styles. The smooth fiber structure of Tencel？ endows Tencel？ / Merino wool blended products with good skin-friendly property， while the thermo-regulatory function is another selling point for blended products. Two fibers can well absorb water vapor so as to create a very comfortable micro-environment in the surface， which is particularly important when staying in the warm weather and doing exercises. Mr. Chen Ronghui， General Manager & Greater China Textiles Commercial Director from Lenzing Fibers （Shanghai） Co.， Ltd.， said： “There is a very interesting phenomenon that the addition of Tencel？ makes Merino wool cooler， suitable for summer textiles； and the addition of Tencel？ makes Merino wool warmer， suitable for winter textiles.” Mr. Chen Ronghui optimistically stated that： “this means that the blends are suitable for all year round.”

The Austrian specialist in cellulose fibers， Lenzing， and the Australian institutional body for merino wool are currently focusing their efforts on knitwear， to make the TencelMerino composite the go-to fiber for the high-end market by 2020.

The partnership allows Tencel？ to boost its business in the upmarket segment， while Woolmark will have the opportunity of better adapting its range to the warmer seasons. According to Lenzing， the composite is already “highly popular”among its European and US clients. The company underlined how the main targets for this collaboration are currently circular and rectilinear knitted products.

Special fiber Tencel？ A100 is ideal for use with Merino wool blend because of more choices for particular fiber lengths. “Internal product development and further cooperation with external trend experts， especially the shirt industry experts， will bring more inspiration for Chinese fabric manufacturers，” Mr. Chen Ronghui explained.