#45 Sylvia Happel, Head of Business Development Europe at Lenzing (Sustainable Fibers Company)

At the essence of our clothes, fibers are the first step towards a sustainable production.Following the government’s request, Lenzing group has developed for many years fibers made from natural wood in order to reduce water consumption and involve renewable energies. You may already know one of them. Such as Viscose, different fibers have come out using the same process based on cellulosic fibers. Sylvia Happel, Head of Business Development in the Europe market at Lenzing believes in the idea that what comes from nature, is by definition something that can go back to it. She explores the great potential of those promising fibers through the lens of innovative technologies, business and market wise as well as circularity stakes. The Austrian company with an international outreach has lately set up new challenges, such as extending circularity to the post-consumer waste use.In this episode, Sylvia shares all the perks of cellulosic fibers, giving their properties and the certifications that follow. Far from greenwashing, and truly dedicated to what producing consciously means, Lenzing also shows a great example of what political decisions can involve in the fashion industry.CONTENT TO FIND YOUR WAY IN THE EPISODE 0:57 : Sylvia presents herself and the company4:15 : What does sustainable mean to her?6:20 : The certifications they use7:58 : Are all their products sustainable?9:05 : What's the difference between those fibers?12:13 : Her favorite fiber12:58 : What makes Lenzing stand out from the others?14:34 : Why did they invest that early in sustainability?16:15: How can the fashion industry accelerate its transition?17:40 : How can we avoid greenwashing?20:20 : The cost of sustainable fibers21:18 : What’s her advice regarding sustainable fibers?22:30 : What are the KPI’s she’s looking at?23:40 : The future of their company26:13 : Is she optimistic regarding the times we are living in?27:42 : How to convince customers to buy sustainable clothes?30:20 : What does she want to close the door to in our industry?30:28 : What does she look at to get inspired?31:28 : What is the last piece of clothes she bought? 31:45: Who would she like to listen to in this podcast? KEY LEARNINGS  «Circularity is very important, it means for our fibers that they come from nature and they go back to nature. All our fibers are compostable.» «People working at Lenzing believe in what they are doing, they do what they are saying, they are trustful.» «Most people are not doing greenwashing on purpose, it’s just a lack of knowledge.» «Post-consumer waste can be anything, any blend and dyed stuff with different finishes. Our goal is to reach 50% post-consumer waste.» Learn more about Lenzing  Lenzing: https://www.lenzing.com   TO SUPPORT SMART CREATION THE PODCAST Don’t forget to share and talk about the podcast to your friends and colleagues, it’s easy and it helps the podcast a lot, and please rate it 5 stars and leave us a comment on Apple Podcast. To know more about Smart Creation and Première Vision https://www.premierevision.com/fr/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.