89. How it’s made: On Manmade Cellulosic Fibers with Dr. Krishna Manda

This week, Dr. Krishna Manda takes us through the basics of how man-made cellulosic fibre, also known as viscose and rayon, is made. Krishna is a sustainability professional with over 15 years of experience. He’s currently Vice President and Global Head of Sustainability at specialty cellulose fibre producer Lenzing, headquartered in Austria. He takes us through the kinds of plants cellulosic fibre can be made from, why Lenzing has chosen to focus on wood, how those inputs are sourced, and how a hard fibrous plant proceeds to ultimately become a soft material ready to be spun into yarn.

This episode is part of a mini-series that explains the production processes behind different fabrics, the players involved, what are their incentives, and more. It's hard to have a conversation about how to make a material better if we don't understand how it's made in the first place.

Connect with Krishna on LinkedIn. And, get in touch with me on LinkedIn, or drop me an email at [email protected].

We’ve featured Candiani on the show on episodes:

• 16 - 13th October 2020 - Danielle Arzaga on Italian-made denim, biodegradability, and direct to grower cotton sourcing
• 17 - 20th October 2020 - Danielle Arzaga on why the Candiani denim mill decided to tell its own story
• 82 - 11th October 2022 - Manufactured x Transformers Foundation: Decarbonization – Perspectives from the denim supply chain (featuring Alberto Candiani)

CREDITS:

Host: Kim van der Weerd

This is a Maed in India production.

Recording Engineers: Lakshman Parsuram & Kartik Kulkarni
Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni

Creative Director: Mae Mariyam Thomas

Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome

Producer: Husein Haveliwala