Canopy Hot Button Report 2021

For three consecutive years Birla Cellulose, the pulp and fibre business of the Aditya Birla Group, has retained top position in Canopy’s Hot Button Report.

In their latest Hot Button Report, Canopy, a not-for-profit organization, has again awarded Birla Cellulose with a ‘dark green shirt’ for relentless efforts in the Man-Made Cellulosic Fibre (MMCF) industry to support and conserve ancient and endangered forests, for bringing transparency across the value chain and game changing solutions for a circular business model in the fashion industry. Over the years, Birla Cellulose has raised its benchmarks in sustainability performance and the ‘Dark green shirt’ is a testament to company’s movement in the right direction. 

“The top ranking is a testament to our long-standing commitment to suppliers and customers for a sustainable future. Our efforts and investments are focused on creating innovative solutions for ecological challenges, and scaling the next-generation fibre solutions which is an integral part of our business strategy. Our collaborative partnerships are intended to create broader and bigger positive impact for a more sustainable MMCF value chain in the fashion industry”, said Mr. H K Agrawal, Business Director Designate, Birla Cellulose.

Birla Cellulose has recently announced an ambitious target for scaling up the production of circular fibers to a level of 100,000 tons per annum by 2024. Its award-winning product Liva Reviva, made by utilizing cotton waste as feedstock is already getting good reception from the leading brands. Birla Cellulose is actively collaborating with brand and supply chain partners, innovators, and orchestrators such as Canopy, Fashion For Good, and Circular Fashion Partnership for scaling its circular business model. Company’s blockchain-based and molecular tracer-backed platform ‘GreenTrack’ provides end-to-end traceability of value chain from forest to fashion and comes free of cost to brand partners who source sustainability enhanced products such as Livaeco by Birla Cellulose and Liva Reviva.

“We are very encouraged by Birla Cellulose’s actions to advance the conservation of key Ancient and Endangered Forests and their commitment to scaling up production of Next-Generation Solutions to a volume that cracks the barrier between niche and commercial scale,” said Ms. Nicole Rycroft, Founder and Executive Director of Canopy. “The MMCF production sector needs a recast and we look forward to working with the Birla team to achieve that.”

About Canopy’s Hot Button Ranking and ‘Dark green shirt’:

Canopy’s Hot Button Ranking is the go-to resource for brands and retailers in the fashion industry when it comes to ensuring that they are sourcing from MMCF producers following sustainable forestry practices in order to eliminate the risks related to biodiversity loss and deforestation in their supply chain. The importance of environmentally friendly business practices in the textile industry has indeed gained a significant amount of traction, in the last 18 months alone, over 200 new brands and retailers have committed to the CanopyStyle initiative, taking the total number of signatories to 455. The brands in question have combined annual revenues of over $791 billion US, so this high demand from the brands can be viewed as a huge step in the right direction. The signatory brands wish to source exclusively from MMCF producers who have achieved the ranking of ‘green shirt’. The ranking of ‘dark green shirt producer’ is one that has gained an impressive amount of popularity amongst brands and signifies the highest level of implementation of CanopyStyle requirements for Ancient and Endangered Forest conservation, transparency, and next-generation textile solutions.  

About Birla Cellulose: 

Birla Cellulose, part of the Aditya Birla Group, is a leading sustainability focused Man-Made Cellulosic Fibers (MMCF) producer and operates 12 sites that apply environmentally efficient closed loop technologies that recycle materials and conserve natural resources. Its five global advanced research centres are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and pilot plants. Its sustainable products Livaeco by Birla Cellulose™, Liva Reviva, Birla Excel™ (lyocell) and Birla Spunshades™ are designed with superior sustainable credentials. Birla Cellulose fibres are ethically derived from natural, renewable resources and manufactured using eco-friendly processes, contributing towards a greener environment.

Birla Cellulose collaborates actively with its upstream and downstream partners with an aim to create a bigger and broader impact on sustainability. It works closely with global sustainability focussed organizations like Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), Canopy, Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), Changing Markets Foundation, Textile Exchange, WBSCD, Fashion for Good, Global Fashion Agenda, amongst others to continually learn and apply the best practices in its global operations and across its value chain.