Pulp has been produced for more than a hundred years. Yet its versatile potential continues to surprise.
What do shirts, toothpaste, loudspeaker and food packaging have in common? The answer lies in the forest. Pulp made from Finnish wood forms the invisible foundation of many everyday products.
Pulp is often associated only with paper production. In reality, it is much more: renewable, recyclable and biodegradable material that is continuously developed into new solutions to replace fossil-based alternatives.
At Metsä Fibre, we see pulp above all as an opportunity – a material that connects northern forests, responsible production and global end uses.
Challenging plastics in packaging
The packaging industry is rapidly seeking alternatives to plastics. Future packaging solutions must be renewable, safe and easy to recycle – without compromising functionality.
At the Äänekoski mill site, 3D fibre products are being developed using pulp produced at Metsä Fibre’s bioproduct mill as the main raw material. The aim is to replace fossil-based food packaging with wood-based solutions that are both recyclable and biodegradable.
3D fibre products combine material efficiency with design flexibility. They can be tailored precisely to their intended use, reducing waste and improving sustainability throughout the product’s entire life cycle.
Wood-based fibres in clothing
Global demand for textile fibres is growing rapidly, but traditional fibre production has its limits. Cotton cultivation requires large amounts of water and land, and it cannot be expanded indefinitely. That is why attention is increasingly turning to forests.
At Äänekoski, wood-based textile fibres are being developed using pulp produced by Metsä Fibre as the starting point. The goal is to bring a new generation of fibres to the market that offers a more sustainable alternative to conventional materials and reduces dependence on fossil-based or resource-intensive fibres.
Wood-based textile fibres refined from pulp can be used to create soft, breathable and durable fabrics. The feel may resemble cotton or viscose, but the raw material comes from northern wood. In the future, more and more of us may wear textiles made from fibres derived from northern forests.
Pulp in your bathroom cabinet
The next time you brush your teeth or check your medicine cabinet, you may have a piece of Finnish forest in your hands. Wood accompanies us in everyday life in surprising ways – often unnoticed. Pulp is not found only in packaging or clothing. It can also be present in toothpaste, food products and medicines.
Carboxymethyl cellulose, CMC, refined from birch pulp, acts as a stabiliser and thickening agent in many everyday products. In food products, it is known by the additive code E466. It is used, for example, to give juices a fuller mouthfeel or to improve the texture of food products.
The same wood-based expertise is also utilised in the pharmaceutical industry. Pulp-based biochemicals can be used in tablet coatings, as binders, or in technical applications where precisely controlled structure is required.
New innovations from wood
Research institutes, universities and companies continuously develop new applications for pulp. It can be used to produce electrically conductive fibre materials, sound insulation solutions, biocomposites and innovative packaging solutions.
Not every idea becomes a commercial product. That is part of development work. Every experiment, however, increases understanding and moves the bioeconomy forward.
Ultimately, what matters most is that innovations meet real needs. When renewable raw materials are combined with customer-driven development, solutions are created that generate value throughout the entire chain – from forest to end user.
Pulp as part of the circular economy
Pulp production is not merely about producing fibres. It is about comprehensive resource efficiency, with the aim of utilising wood as fully as possible.
In addition to pulp, Metsä Fibre’s mills generate bioenergy, biogas, biomethanol and various biochemicals. When wood is fully utilised, its value multiplies.
Black liquor is used to produce renewable electricity and heat. Crude tall oil and turpentine are refined into raw materials for the chemical industry, which are used in the production of products such as paints, solvents, and components for tires. New applications for lignin are continuously being developed, for example in biofuels and composites.
Our goal is fossil-free and waste-free production. When each side stream finds a valuable use, the entire value chain becomes more efficient and environmental impacts are reduced.