After achieving sizeable growth in womenswear, Aditya Birla Group company Grasim Industries plans to make a foray into the menswear segment with eco-friendly viscose fibre, branded as liva fibre, produced by its sister company Birla Cellulose.
“We are primarily present in the womenswear segment as of now with premium quality textile products, produced from viscose. Now, we are moving towards an eco-friendly fibre variant called Liva eco. We announced our entry into the home textile segment a few months ago with Liva,” said Dilip Gaur, Managing Director, Grasim Industries. Grasim's pulp and fibre business division Birla Cellulose has achieved sizeable growth in production of viscose, the natural fibre, in the past five years.
The company's total viscose production has risen to 1,250 tonne per day, from 650 tonne per day five years ago. The company has now announced Rs 5,000-crore fresh investment to set up its two plants, with an annual production capacity of approximately 220,000 tonne per annum, in Gujarat. Selling under the brand name, Liva, Birla Cellulose’s viscose is currently used in 35 million garments as compared to mere 1.8 million in 2015.
Birla Cellulose has recently unveiled a new eco-friendly variant called Liva fabric i.e. Livaeco.
Birla Cellulose, following the Aditya Birla Group's philosophy of being at the forefront of sustainable business practices, has taken yet another step towards enhancing the sustainability of the fashion industry through the introduction of Livaeco.
"At Birla Cellulose, sustainability is a continuous journey towards the wellbeing of all stakeholders while conserving nature. With the launch of Livaeco, we endeavor to systematically engage with the textile value chain and offer consumers fashionable clothing that is eco-friendly," said Gaur.
With around 18 per cent of market share in the world market, Grasim Industries currently competes with Austria and China in the world market. Charging a premium over other textile raw materials such as cotton and polyester, viscose consumption in India is growing rapidly following growing income of average middle class.
Overall viscose consumption in India has grown from 3.5 per cent five years ago to 4.5 per cent now, despite a phenomenal growth in overall textile industry during the period.