Spinnova, based in Jyvaskyla, Finland has invented a fibre yarn technology which spins yarn directly from wood fibers without complex chemical processes. The yarn manufacturing process Spinnova has pioneered reportedly uses 99 percent less water and 80 percent less energy than the cotton process.

As impressively, the wood fiber method does not require extra chemical treatment of the pulp fiber. And, the yarn is recyclable.

With the Spinnova process, the amount of wood used annually in Finland could reportedly be enough to replace the world’s entire cotton production. Perhaps that’s far-fetched, but if the yarn-making method were to gain major traction, then it could, revolutionize both the textile and forest industry.

After all, innovations in synthetic fabrics led to polyester and poly-blended performance wear – a category that has absolutely taken over the promo market. As more corporations and consumers focus on sustainability, demand for apparel created with wood fiber yarns could one day rise, provided it’s cost-effective and adopted widely at retail, among other considerations.

Sure, there’s probably a long way to go before that might happen, but production of the wood fiber is expected to be upgraded to industrial scale in 2017-18.

Spinnova, an offshoot of VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, got the idea for its process by combining the web-weaving method of spiders with paper manufacturing.