Textile ETP at Pulp & Beyond 2026
On 14 April 2026, Textile ETP Secretary General Lutz Walter participated in Pulp & Beyond, a leading forum bringing together the latest forest-based bioeconomy innovations, products, services and technologies and people throughout the ecosystem.
Lutz gave a keynote speech about the biobased fibre innovation opportunities in the EU textile market, highlighting that fossil-based fibres still account for 69% of global fibre production, why a phase-out will be a long but necessary process, and the three key pathways for biobased fibres in textiles:
Sustainable Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF): using wood pulp and agricultural waste as feedstock, with strong EU industry leadership in processing, and the best near-term potential to substitute fossil synthetics in apparel and home textiles
Biosynthetics & Novel Biopolymer-based Fibres: replacing fossil feedstocks for polyester, polyamides and elastane, with a drop-in advantage thanks to known properties and existing processing capacity
Sustainably Sourced & Improved Natural Fibres: including cotton, wool, hemp and bast fibres, with innovation in regenerative agriculture and processing
While demand for sustainable textile fibres is expected to grow faster, he outlined that biobased manmade fibres, especially MMCF and biosynthetics, have the strongest near-term potential, but that fibre and processing chemistry development must go hand in hand, and cost-competitiveness with fossil synthetics remains the defining challenge.
