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Canopy Wants Next-Gen Fibers to Boldly Go Mainstream

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Canopy Wants Next-Gen Fibers to Boldly Go Mainstream

Canopy wants man-made cellulosic fibers to boldly go where none have gone before.

Hyperbole? Not necessarily. Speaking at Textile Exchange’s annual meeting in Vancouver on Thursday, Valerie Langer, senior director of transformation at the Canadian forestry nonprofit, unveiled the “sexier name” for the Pre-Competitive Alliance it had teased during New York Climate Week. The result is both a promise and a motivator: Next-Gen Warp Speed.

“I think we’ll need to get little Vulcan ears to wear at the table,” she joked.

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TEMPLIN, GERMANY - AUGUST 03: In this aerial view, a mixed forest that includes pine, beech and oak trees stands on August 03, 2026 near Templin, Germany. Many German forestries are seeking to shift away from the monocultures of pine, some of which were first planted two centuries ago, towards mixed forests that include native deciduous trees. While pine offers commercial advantages due to its fast growth, it is much more susceptible to wild fires, as made clear by the recent catastrophic fires in the Gironde region of southwestern France. Global warming is having a particularly strong effect in Europe, with longer, hotter and drier summers becoming the norm. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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The strategy works through two complementary pathways, either of which some brands may already be pursuing.

The first is making clothing that blends 20 to 50 percent “next-gen” fibers derived from waste streams with conventional “green shirt” MMCF with no known risk of ancient and endangered forests. While the price differential may be challenging for a lot of companies, Langer said, it also allows those that take this tack to make circular claims on their product labels that can also serve as a consumer marketing tool.

The second works by blending a more modest 5 percent of next-gen fiber across high-volume production, diluting the price premium and making the material more accessible for mid-size brands or companies. Doing so, she said, also guarantees a steady offtake for next-gen circular pulp producers, giving investors confidence to fund and build the next commercial-scale manufacturing mills.

“And when economies of scale start to kick in, the price of the fiber comes down,” Langer said.


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