Södra turning heads at London Fashion Week

“This is a fantastic opportunity to spread the message that dissolving pulp is a sustainable and renewable choice for textiles. There is a growing movement in the fashion industry that will increase demand for sustainable materials in the future, and big-name designers like Stella McCartney, H&M and Filippa K are leading the trend,” said Dag Benestad, Sales Director for Södra’s dissolving pulp.

The #challengethefabric initiative was created by Södra’s agent in Asia, the Ekman Group, in partnership with Södra, Sanyou in China, viscose producer and customer to Södra, as well as the dissolving producers Arauco in Chile and Altri in Portugal. The Swedish Fashion Council and Prime are also involved. Eleven of the world’s most prestigious design schools will be represented and compete for € 30.000 at the fashion show hosted by #challengethefabric.

“Global fashion sales currently amount to USD 3,000 billion and the market is expected to double within a few decades. The general view is that cotton consumption has now reached its peak and that biomaterials like viscose will therefore win market share,” said Dag Benestad.

After the fashion show, a panel discussion will be held with the topic “The future of alternatives: how to sustain fashion.” Södra’s Director of Communications and Sustainability, Maria Baldin, will take part in the discussion and speak about the role of forestry in the value chain.

“For us in Sweden, the harmonisation of production goals and sustainable forest management is self-evident. We also have aggressive ambitions for our mills, which have virtually fossil-free production. That is also why people from all over the world are coming here to study our achievements,” said Maria Baldin.

Read more about the CTF Award and the finalists