01-05-2025
Shyamlal Patnaik
Liva Reviva-M is the first-of-its-kind circular fibre
As the global textile industry shifts towards circularity and low-impact production, innovation in sustainable fibres has never been more critical. Birla Cellulose, a global leader in man-made cellulosic fibres, is at the forefront of this transformation. In this interview with Fibre2Fashion, Shyamlal Patnaik, Joint President – Global Head Specialty Business at Birla Cellulose, discusses the company's pioneering efforts in advancing its specialty fibre portfolio, with a spotlight on Liva Reviva-M—the company's latest breakthrough in circular fibre innovation. He shares insights on sustainability gains, supply chain adaptability, and how Birla Cellulose is scaling solutions for a more responsible fashion ecosystem.
As head of the specialty business, what is your approach to innovating within Birla Cellulose's diverse fibre portfolio?
As the demand for natural fibres continues to grow, it is important to highlight the evolving benefits of man-made cellulosic fibres. Our approach to innovation is rooted in sustainability, circularity, and enhancing the functional properties of fibres. Our specialty fibre portfolio reflects this focus, delivering performance and eco-conscious solutions for a wide range of applications.
How is Birla Cellulose responding to changing dynamics in the global textile supply chain?
With new geopolitical challenges, including trade tariffs, addressing the global textile supply chain has become critical to ensuring business continuity. We are well-positioned to meet customer demand across different regions, thanks to our manufacturing units located in multiple geographies. This enables us to adapt more swiftly to the evolving supply chain landscape.
What are your priorities when it comes to scaling sustainable specialty fibres across categories?
We are strongly committed to scaling our sustainable specialty fibres. To support this, we are launching our state-of-the-art Liva Reviva-M manufacturing unit in Nagda, which will produce Liva Reviva-M fibre. This new facility marks our latest advancement in circular fibre innovation.
What makes Liva Reviva-M a breakthrough innovation in the recycled cellulosic fibre space?
Liva Reviva-M is an extension of our Reviva product category, specially crafted based on customer preferences. It is the first-of-its-kind circular fibre that uses post-consumer textile waste—such as used clothing— as feedstock.
Can you explain the technical process behind mechanically opening post-consumer cotton-rich waste and blending it with Birla MMCF fibres like Excel and Spunshade?
The process is uniquely developed through our in-house innovation, where we are uniformly blending mechanically recycled textile waste fibres with our sustainable Birla fibres, such as Excel and Spunshade, based on customer specifications. The uniqueness of this process lies in its customisability, allowing us to create tailored fibre blends that come with certifications like GRS, FSC, and, we will be introducing the fibre with tracers in the future.
How do you ensure quality, consistency, and fibre performance while using mixed post-consumer waste as input?
Quality and consistency are critical. Our blending process ensures a uniform, customised fibre blend that meets customer requirements and enhances performance. The post-consumer textile waste is sourced with full traceability at the point of collection and is GRS-certified, RSL-compliant (free from hazardous chemicals), and includes detailed information on the blend ratio.
What are the sustainability gains in terms of chemical, water, and energy savings during Liva Reviva-M's production?
Liva Reviva-M is the first circular fibre that does not consume any additional chemicals or water and is produced using low energy. This makes it a highly sustainable fibre with a low carbon footprint.
In terms of product application, how does Liva Reviva-M perform in heavier categories like recycled denim and terry towels?
Liva Reviva-M is ideal for producing heavyweight textile fabrics. We are currently offering two categories: Liva Liva Reviva-M (Denim) for recycled denim applications, and Liva Reviva-M (White) for terry towels and other fabrics, based on customer requirements.
How does Liva Reviva-M compare with existing fibres in the LIVA Reviva line from a functionality and processability standpoint?
'Reviva' means 'reviving back to new life.' Liva Reviva-M is a mechanically blended fibre and an extension of the Reviva range. While we already offer Liva Reviva fibres through a chemical recycling process using recycled pulp to produce sustainable viscose or lyocell fibres, Liva Reviva-M is specifically designed for heavyweight fabric applications such as recycled denim and terry towels.
What is your strategy for scaling production and encouraging mill and brand adoption of Liva Reviva-M globally?
Our Liva Reviva-M plant in Nagda has a production capacity of up to 5KT per year. As adoption of Liva Reviva-M grows, we are prepared to scale up the capacity further. We are actively collaborating with mills and brands to develop products using Liva Reviva-M and to offer consumers sustainable and circular textile options.
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of
