SaXcell Recycled Fibre: How Textile Waste Becomes New Lyocell
Introducing SaXcell Recycled Fibre.
Inside the Dutch textile-to-textile recycling technology turning cotton-rich clothing waste into soft, durable regenerated fibre, and why it could reduce fashion’s dependence on virgin cotton, wood pulp and synthetic materials.
What if an old cotton garment could become a new, high-quality fibre without being reduced to weak, shortened threads?
That is the idea behind SaXcell®, a regenerated cellulosic fibre made using cotton-rich pre-consumer and post-consumer textile waste.
Developed in the Netherlands, SaXcell uses chemical recycling to extract and purify the cellulose found naturally in cotton. That recovered cellulose is transformed into dissolving pulp before being regenerated through a closed-loop lyocell process.
The resulting fibre is designed to offer the softness, consistency and durability expected from virgin-quality textiles while keeping existing cotton in circulation.
In simple terms, SaXcell aims to turn used textiles back into textiles—not insulation, stuffing or cleaning cloths, but fibre suitable for new clothing, denim, activewear and home textiles.
That distinction matters.
Only a small proportion of discarded clothing is currently recycled into new clothing. Much of what is called textile recycling is actually downcycling, where material is converted into a lower-value product that cannot easily return to fashion.
SaXcell is attempting something more circular.
What Is SaXcell?
SaXcell is a man-made cellulosic fibre produced primarily from cotton-rich textile waste.
The name began as an abbreviation of “Saxion cellulose”, reflecting the technology’s origins at Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Enschede. Research began in 2011, and SaXcell later developed from a university project into an independent Dutch material-technology company.
Although SaXcell is made through an industrial regeneration process, its core raw material is cellulose: the natural polymer that forms the structure of cotton and wood.
This places the fibre within the same broad family as viscose, modal and lyocell.
The difference lies in where that cellulose comes from.
Conventional viscose and lyocell generally begin with wood that is processed into dissolving pulp. SaXcell recovers cellulose from cotton-rich clothing and textile-production waste, reducing the need to source an entirely new raw material.
An early commercial SaXcell lyocell used by clothing brand ARMEDANGELS contained:
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30% Recycled Claim Standard-certified cotton from pre-consumer and post-consumer textile waste
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70% Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood pulp
This blend helped introduce recycled textile cellulose into a fibre capable of meeting commercial performance requirements.
SaXcell’s current technology platform goes further. The company describes its fibre as being made primarily from used cotton textiles and says its pulp can be produced without wood or other virgin inputs. Its stated ambition is to enable fabrics made with 100% SaXcell fibre.
The precise composition should therefore be checked at product level. One SaXcell garment may use a fibre blended with certified wood pulp, while newer applications may contain a higher proportion of textile-derived cellulose.
How Is SaXcell Made?
SaXcell combines textile-waste preparation, chemical recycling and lyocell fibre production.
The exact industrial formula is proprietary, but the company outlines the following process.
1. Cotton-Rich Textile Waste Is Collected
The process begins with pre-consumer or post-consumer cotton-rich textiles.
Pre-consumer waste can include cutting scraps, rejected fabric and other material left over during textile and garment production.
Post-consumer waste includes clothing or household textiles that have already been used and discarded.
Cotton is especially valuable in this process because it contains a high proportion of cellulose. However, real garments may also contain polyester, elastane, sewing thread, prints, dyes, coatings, labels, zips and buttons.
The suitability of the input material therefore depends on its composition and on the system’s ability to separate unwanted components.
2. The Textiles Are Prepared and Purified
The selected textiles are broken down and processed so their cellulose can be recovered.
SaXcell’s chemical recycling technology removes dyes, finishes and other impurities from cotton-rich waste. This produces purified cellulose rather than a mixture of shredded fibres.
This is one of the main differences between chemical and mechanical cotton recycling.
Mechanical recycling usually tears fabric back into loose fibre. Each round of shredding shortens those fibres, which can weaken the resulting yarn. Mechanically recycled cotton is consequently often mixed with virgin cotton or another stronger fibre.
Chemical recycling works at a different level. It separates and purifies the cellulose so that it can be dissolved and regenerated as a new fibre with a consistent length and structure.
3. The Recovered Cellulose Becomes Dissolving Pulp
Once purified, the recovered cellulose is converted into a high-grade dissolving pulp.
Dissolving pulp is the intermediary material used to manufacture regenerated cellulosic fibres. Conventional versions are generally made from wood; SaXcell’s purpose is to create this pulp from existing textiles.
This is where a discarded cotton garment stops functioning as old fabric and becomes feedstock for a new fibre.
4. The Pulp Is Dissolved
The cellulose pulp is dissolved to create a spinning solution.
SaXcell uses a lyocell-based process rather than conventional viscose chemistry. The company says this avoids sulphur-based chemicals and continually recovers and reuses its solvent within a closed-loop system.
“Closed loop” does not mean that the process has no environmental footprint. Energy, water, infrastructure and chemical management are still required.
It means the production system is designed to capture and recirculate its process chemicals rather than routinely releasing them after one use.
5. New Fibres Are Spun
The cellulose solution is pushed through spinnerets containing tiny openings.
As the solution enters a controlled spinning bath, the cellulose solidifies into continuous new filaments. These are washed and processed before being cut to the required staple length.
The fibre has now been regenerated.
Unlike mechanically recycled cotton, its length is determined by the spinning process rather than by the length of the recovered fibres. SaXcell can therefore offer greater consistency and strength than cotton that has simply been shredded.
6. SaXcell Re-enters the Existing Textile Supply Chain
The finished fibre can be spun into yarn and then knitted or woven using existing textile machinery.
According to SaXcell, it offers good dye uptake and can be used in fabrics for:
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Shirts, dresses and suits
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Denim
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Activewear
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Towels and bed linen
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Other clothing and technical applications
This compatibility is important because even an impressive material will struggle to create change if manufacturers need to replace their entire production system to use it.
What Materials Could SaXcell Replace?
SaXcell is not a universal substitute for every fashion fibre. Its closest alternatives are virgin cotton and wood-based regenerated cellulosic fibres, although it could also replace synthetic materials in selected applications.
Virgin Cotton
Cotton is breathable, familiar and versatile, but growing it requires agricultural land, water and other inputs. Its impact differs enormously according to location, farming method and irrigation requirements, so no single cotton statistic tells the whole story.
SaXcell offers a way to obtain cotton-derived cellulose from material that has already been grown, harvested, spun, woven and worn.
Using textile waste as feedstock could reduce demand for new cotton cultivation while retaining qualities consumers associate with cellulosic fabrics, including softness, breathability and moisture absorption.
It will not eliminate the need for cotton immediately. SaXcell must reach sufficient scale, and both blended fibres and blended garments can complicate recycling.
Its value lies in keeping some of the cotton already in circulation useful for longer.
Virgin Wood-Based Lyocell
Conventional lyocell is made from wood pulp. When forests are responsibly managed and solvents are properly recovered, lyocell can offer advantages over more polluting fibre systems.
However, it still depends on virgin biological material.
SaXcell can substitute recycled textile cellulose for some or all of that wood pulp. This could reduce pressure on forest resources while addressing textile waste at the same time.
The early ARMEDANGELS fibre combined recycled cotton with FSC-certified wood pulp. SaXcell’s newer waste-based pulp technology is intended to increase the recycled content and reduce the need for virgin inputs further.
Conventional Viscose
Viscose is also made from cellulose, but its traditional manufacturing process uses chemicals including carbon disulphide and can create serious risks where emissions and worker exposure are poorly managed.
SaXcell uses lyocell-based chemistry and says its process avoids sulphur-based chemicals while recovering and reusing solvents.
That gives it the potential to replace some conventional viscose applications with a recycled-content cellulosic alternative.
You can explore the wider debate in Scarlet Destiny’s guide to what “eco-friendly” viscose really means.
Polyester and Other Synthetics
SaXcell cannot reproduce every technical property of polyester, nylon or elastane. It would not automatically substitute for synthetic fibres where extreme stretch, waterproofing or specialised performance is required.
It may offer an alternative to polyester in some applications where the specific performance characteristics of synthetic fibres aren’t required.
Because SaXcell is a pure cellulosic fibre rather than a plastic-based fibre, the company says it does not release synthetic microplastics during wear and washing.
That does not mean cellulosic fibres create no fibre pollution. Natural and regenerated fibres can also be shed, and dyes or finishes applied later may influence their environmental impact.
But SaXcell does avoid building another garment around a fossil-fuel-derived plastic fibre.
For comparison, read our investigation into circular polyester and fashion’s continued dependence on plastic.
Why Is SaXcell Considered a Lower-Impact Material?
No material is environmentally harmless.
Whether SaXcell delivers a lower overall impact depends on its feedstock, energy source, recycled content, production location, fabric construction, dyeing, garment quality and what happens to the finished product.
However, the technology addresses several significant fashion-industry problems.
It Uses Textile Waste as a Raw Material
SaXcell recovers cellulose from cotton-rich waste that might otherwise be downcycled, incinerated or sent to landfill.
This creates demand for material that already exists instead of relying entirely on new cotton or wood.
It Can Reduce Pressure on Land and Water
SaXcell reports that its process uses 40 litres of water per kilogram of fibre, compared with the company’s benchmark of 2,000 litres for one kilogram of conventional cotton fibre.
On that basis, SaXcell claims water consumption can be up to 98% lower.
The company also reports 80% less land use, because its recycled feedstock does not require new agricultural cultivation.
These are SaXcell’s comparisons for its own fibre system, rather than universal figures applying to every cotton farm or final garment. They should be understood as company-reported impact data and assessed alongside the methodology and product composition.
It Uses Closed-Loop Solvent Recovery
The lyocell-based system is designed to recover and reuse its solvent and water.
This can reduce chemical loss and pollution compared with open-loop manufacturing, particularly conventional viscose production where chemicals are not responsibly controlled.
It Avoids Synthetic Microplastics
SaXcell is made from cellulose and contains no inherently plastic fibre.
A pure SaXcell textile would therefore avoid the synthetic microplastic shedding associated with polyester and other fossil-fuel-based fibres.
This advantage can be diluted if SaXcell is mixed with polyester or elastane later in the supply chain, so the composition of the finished garment still matters.
It Produces Consistent Fibre from Recycled Material
One of the barriers to recycled cotton is declining fibre quality.
By dissolving and regenerating the cellulose, SaXcell can create fibres with a controlled length and consistent quality. This makes the material more suitable for repeated use within mainstream textile production than mechanically recycled fibre alone.
The company says its fibre can be recycled multiple times without the same loss of quality associated with repeated mechanical shredding.
It Is Designed for Existing Machinery
SaXcell fibre can be spun, woven, knitted and dyed within established textile infrastructure.
This does not guarantee rapid adoption, but it removes one practical barrier to scale.
A circular material is far more useful when mills and manufacturers can process it without building an entirely new supply chain.
Who Is Using SaXcell?
ARMEDANGELS became the first fashion brand to release clothing made with SaXcell, incorporating the 30% recycled-cotton and 70% FSC-certified wood-pulp lyocell into its DetoxDenim range.
The collaboration demonstrates how SaXcell can move beyond a laboratory sample and into a commercially available product.
SaXcell is also working across the supply chain with textile and manufacturing partners including Birla Cellulose, Bossa, Blue Loop Originals, MUD Jeans, Uğurlular, Selin and others.
Its partnership with Birla Cellulose is particularly relevant to scale.
SaXcell contributes its textile-waste pulping technology, while Birla Cellulose contributes established wet-spinning expertise and manufacturing capacity. The intention is to produce recycled man-made cellulosic fibres at commercial volume without requiring SaXcell to construct every stage of the supply chain independently.
This collaborative model could help new materials overcome one of their most persistent problems: moving from an exciting pilot to a fibre available in meaningful quantities.
However, a company appearing as a SaXcell collaborator does not necessarily mean it currently sells an entire consumer collection made from the fibre. Partnerships may involve fibre trials, yarn development, denim testing, manufacturing or future scaling.
The bigger question is whether innovations like SaXcell can reach meaningful scale and actually displace virgin material, rather than simply adding another fibre to the market — and whether finished garments can realistically make it back into textile-to-textile recycling after use.
SaXcell Frequently Asked Questions
What is SaXcell made from?
SaXcell is made primarily from cellulose recovered from cotton-rich pre-consumer and post-consumer textile waste. Some commercial SaXcell fibres have combined 30% recycled cotton waste with 70% FSC-certified wood pulp. The company is also developing fibre systems intended to reduce or remove virgin wood inputs.
Is SaXcell a natural or synthetic fibre?
SaXcell is a regenerated cellulosic fibre.
Its cellulose originates from natural cotton, but that cellulose is dissolved and reformed through an industrial process. It is therefore man-made but not a fossil-fuel-based synthetic fibre like polyester or nylon.
Is SaXcell the same as lyocell?
SaXcell is a regenerated man-made cellulose fibre made primarily from used cotton textiles, produced using a closed-loop lyocell process.
Conventional lyocell usually begins with virgin wood pulp. SaXcell uses cellulose recovered from cotton-rich textile waste as some or all of its feedstock.
Is SaXcell biodegradable?
Pure regenerated cellulose can biodegrade under suitable conditions, but the biodegradability of a finished garment depends on more than its main fibre.
Synthetic blends, sewing threads, dyes, coatings and chemical finishes can change how the product behaves at the end of its life. SaXcell content alone should not be treated as proof that an entire garment is biodegradable.
Does SaXcell contain plastic?
Pure SaXcell is a cellulosic fibre and does not contain inherently plastic fibre. A finished SaXcell fabric may still be blended with polyester or elastane, so shoppers should check the complete composition label.
Is SaXcell better than cotton?
SaXcell can reduce demand for newly grown cotton by recovering cellulose from existing textile waste. The company reports major reductions in water and land use compared with its conventional-cotton benchmark.
However, “better” depends on the specific cotton system, SaXcell composition, production energy, garment construction and expected lifespan.
Can SaXcell replace polyester?
SaXcell can replace polyester in some soft, breathable clothing and home-textile applications. It cannot necessarily replace synthetic fibres where specialised stretch, waterproofing or other technical performance is required.
Can SaXcell be recycled again?
SaXcell says its regenerated fibres can return to its recycling process after use, enabling multiple recycling cycles. In practice, recyclability will depend on the garment’s full composition, trims, finishes and the availability of collection and processing infrastructure.
Continue Exploring Scarlet Destiny
Continue learning about circular materials, textile waste and fashion’s search for better fibres:
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Circular Economy Textiles: The Fabric Powering Fashion’s Future
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Circular Polyester: Fashion’s Shift Away From Virgin Plastic
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