Metsä Group’s primary purpose is the processing of the wood raw material of our parent company, Metsäliitto Cooperative. Our main goal is therefore to develop a new method that would enable the further processing of Metsä Group's pulp in Finland. We aim to be the most responsible and desirable operator in this segment. We believe that there are different cycles in a functioning circular economy. Alongside the direct recycling of side streams and used materials, there is also a longer cycle where carbon circulates through carbon dioxide. Alongside our main concept, we closely monitor the development of markets and legislation.
The developed production method is fundamentally flexible because it is designed to use so-called paper pulp. If the recycled material is of sufficient quality (comparable to paper pulp), Kuura fibre can be produced from it. This has been practically demonstrated on a laboratory scale.
The availability of recycled raw material suitable for textile fibre production is likely to increase in the future. Currently, cellulose-containing waste (e.g. cotton textile waste) is mainly imported to Europe from Asia. Therefore, it may take until to 2030s before the availability in Europe is at a sufficient level. In addition, when comparing the use of fresh fibre and recycled fibre, it is good to examine the life cycle analysis results of different options. Although recycling is a desirable thing, it also has its environmental footprint. For example, long transport from Asia and processing recycled fibre into recycled pulp that is suitable as a raw material also cause environmental impacts.