Ecovero, Tencel, Sorona — a buyer’s note on three fibres
Three names that appear on almost every spec sheet we send out, and three very different answers to the question "what should this dress feel like?"
Buyers often treat these three as interchangeable "nice fibres". They are not. Each solves a different problem, and picking the wrong one shows up three weeks later in the wash test.
Ecovero — viscose with a paper trail
Ecovero is Lenzing’s branded viscose, made from certified wood pulp under a closed-loop process with documented emission and water limits. In cloth it behaves like good viscose: fluid drape, cool hand, a slight dry touch. It does not add strength. A 100% Ecovero twill at 150 GSM is a shirting and dress weight, not a bottom weight.
What you are paying for is the certificate chain, not a different hand. If the end customer does not audit fibre origin, a generic viscose will feel almost identical and cost less.
Tencel — the one with the dry click
Tencel lyocell has a cooler, drier surface than viscose and holds a crease better. It is the reason a printed summer quality can look crisp rather than limp. Blended with nylon — 83/17 is a proportion we run — it gains enough body for a light outer layer while staying under 90 GSM.
Watch the fibrillation. Lyocell exposed to abrasion in a wet state can develop a surface fuzz. If the garment is meant to be garment-washed, specify the finish, or you will see it in the first sample.
Sorona — stretch that comes back
Sorona is a partially bio-based PTT. Its value is recovery: it returns to shape after repeated stretch and heat, which conventional spandex does slowly and incompletely. In a poly-viscose stretch bottom, a small percentage changes how the garment ages rather than how it feels on day one.
It is not a substitute for spandex where high stretch is required. It is a substitute for the sag that appears at month six.
Choosing between them
- Drape and print clarity, certificate needed — Ecovero.
- Crisp surface, light weight, dry hand — Tencel.
- Shape retention over time in a stretch bottom — Sorona.
None of these is a premium for its own sake. Each one is a decision about what happens to the garment after thirty washes.
Working on a quality?
Send the reference and the end use. We will send back cloth, not a picture of cloth.
