Cellulosic

Viscose

Plant cellulose, dissolved and remade.

Reviewed 2026-09-22. Evidence level: verified. Open the interactive profile and route map.

Key figures

Key reagents: sodium hydroxide, carbon disulfide, sulfuric acid
Alkali cellulose aging: typically about 1 to 2 days
Man-made cellulosics, share of world fiber (2022): about 6%
US rayon definition: regenerated cellulose, not more than 15% of hydroxyl hydrogens substituted
Finnish viscose cohort, 1967 to 1972: 4.7-fold excess heart-disease mortality

Approximate values under the stated conditions.

Overview

Production: about 80% of about 8.4 million tonnes of man-made cellulosic fiber (global viscose share of man-made cellulosic fiber production, as reported from the Textile Exchange report, 2024). [2]

Regenerated cellulose made from dissolving pulp through the viscose process; often called rayon.

Feel and behavior

Absorbent with fluid drape; wet strength varies by fiber type.

Where you find it

Dresses, blouses, linings and knit blends.

Source and geography

Viscose is regenerated cellulose made mostly from dissolving pulp, a highly purified wood pulp, although cotton linters can also be used. Dissolving pulp is specified by purity and reactivity; one enzyme study targeted less than 3% xylan, over 92% ISO brightness and a Fock reactivity of about 70% for viscose grades. Hardwoods such as beech and softwoods such as spruce are used, and pulping method changes the hemicellulose that remains. Man-made cellulosic fibers made up about 6% of world fiber output in 2022, and viscose is the most common of them.

Advantages

It drapes fluidly and has a soft, cool hand at modest cost.
It absorbs moisture well and takes dyes to deep, bright shades.
It is made from renewable cellulose and its fibers have biodegraded in aerobic water tests.
It blends easily with cotton, polyester, linen and elastane to add softness and drape.

Drawbacks

It is weak when wet, so garments can shrink, stretch or distort in washing.
It creases easily and can show water spots on some finishes.
The viscose process uses carbon disulfide, so environmental and worker outcomes depend on plant controls.
Pulp can come from poorly managed or endangered forests unless sourcing is documented.

Worth knowing

In 2013 Amazon, Leon Max, Macy's and Sears agreed to pay a total of 1.26 million dollars in FTC civil penalties for labeling rayon textiles as bamboo.
In 2022 Kohl's and Walmart agreed to pay 2.5 million and 3 million dollars in civil penalties over bamboo claims, after FTC warning letters sent in 2010.
The FTC's 2010 warning letters on bamboo labeling went to 78 companies.

Types, grades and fabrics

Types and grades

Viscose comes as staple, cut to cotton-type or wool-type lengths for spinning alone or in blends, and as continuous filament for linings, satin and dress fabrics. Regular viscose has modest wet strength; high-wet-modulus variants made by modified viscose routes include modal and the older polynosic fibers. Specialty grades include flame-retardant viscose for protective and upholstery uses, dope-dyed viscose colored before spinning, and hollow or trilobal cross-sections for bulk or luster. Feedstock labels such as bamboo, eucalyptus or beech describe the pulp, not a different fiber. Branded fibers such as LENZING ECOVERO are regular viscose with producer claims about pulp sourcing and emissions. Cupro, often confused with viscose, is made by a different cuprammonium process.

Fabrics and products

Viscose challis is a soft, lightweight plain weave, often printed, for dresses and blouses. Viscose crepe, twill and satin give fluid drape for skirts and shirts, and filament viscose is used for linings and ribbons. Viscose jersey, usually with a few percent elastane, is common in T-shirts and dresses. Viscose velvet has a dense, lustrous pile. Blends with polyester (often sold as TR suiting) combine drape with wrinkle resistance, and slub viscose and viscose-linen blends imitate linen. Much viscose staple also goes into nonwovens such as wipes and hygiene products, where its absorbency is valued.

Buying and care

How to judge quality

Regular viscose loses much of its strength wet, so the main quality risks are shrinkage and distortion after washing. Look for fabrics described as prewashed or preshrunk, and for firm, tight weaves; loosely woven challis can show seam slippage, where yarns pull apart at stressed seams. Heavier crepe and twill hold shape better than thin challis. Run fabric between your fingers: viscose should feel smooth and cool without a papery crispness from stiffening finishes that wash out. On US labels the fiber must be named rayon or viscose; 'bamboo' alone is unlawful, although 'rayon made from bamboo' is acceptable. Pulp-sourcing and lower-impact claims need brand or certification evidence.

Care in detail

Follow the label closely, because many viscose items are marked hand wash, cold wash or dry clean. When washing is allowed, use 30 C or cooler on a delicate cycle or by hand, with a mild detergent, and support the wet fabric rather than wringing or twisting it. Roll in a towel to remove water, then dry flat or on a padded hanger; avoid hot tumble drying, a common cause of shrinkage. Iron at medium heat, about 150 C (two dots), on the reverse while slightly damp or through a pressing cloth, since viscose can scorch and develop shine. Test stain removers on a hidden seam, and store folded knits so they do not stretch on hangers.

Care at a glance

Follow the label, support wet fabric and avoid wringing. Some garments require professional cleaning.

Environmental and social footprint

Two issues dominate. The first is forests: Canopy, an environmental group, has warned that a significant share of the wood pulped for fabrics comes from ancient and endangered forests. Its CanopyStyle initiative, launched in October 2013, asks brands and fiber producers to exclude such sources, and its annual Hot Button Report ranks producers on sourcing risk. The second is chemistry: carbon disulfide and sulfur emissions and zinc-bearing effluent depend on recovery at the plant. A 2010 life cycle study by Shen, Worrell and Patel found Austrian viscose among the lowest-impact fibers assessed, while viscose produced in Asia was comparable to PET, showing that plant and region matter more than the fiber name. Bamboo branding does not make viscose greener.

Tradeoffs

Wood sourcing and chemical recovery are separate questions. Plant feedstock does not make every process equivalent.

A useful question to ask: Can the supplier identify the pulp source and the fiber producer?

Science

Data sheet

Property	Value	Conditions	Source
Density	1.46 to 1.54 g/cm3		[3]
Moisture regain	11 to 16.6 %	standard conditions	[3]
Tenacity	2.0 to 2.6 dry; 1.0 to 1.5 wet g/denier	regular viscose	[3]

Manufactured cellulose family

Regenerated cellulose or a cellulose derivative, depending on the fiber.

Structure and chemistry

Chemically, viscose is cellulose again, but regenerated in the cellulose II crystal form with a lower degree of polymerization and a less ordered structure than cotton. Coagulation in an acid bath forms a skin before the core, leaving regular viscose with a serrated or lobed cross-section and fine longitudinal striations. Scanning X-ray microdiffraction shows a skin-core morphology with microfibrils about 100 nm across, built from ribbon-like elementary fibrils about 6 by 2 nm, stacked less regularly than in air-gap spun fibers. Viscose carries a few carboxyl groups, about 20 mmol/kg in one study, and a thin hemicellulose-rich surface layer.

From source to yarn

Pulp is steeped in sodium hydroxide to form alkali cellulose, pressed and shredded, then aged, typically for one to two days, to lower the degree of polymerization to the target viscosity. Xanthation with carbon disulfide converts it to cellulose xanthate, which dissolves in dilute caustic soda as an orange-yellow viscous solution, the viscose. During ripening the xanthate groups redistribute among the 2, 3 and 6 positions of the glucose units and the solution becomes spinnable. After filtration and deaeration it is extruded into a sulfuric acid bath, where the cellulose regenerates and the sulfur compounds are released. Filaments are stretched, washed and finished, then cut to staple, the main form, or wound as filament.

Performance in use

Viscose is highly absorbent, with slightly higher moisture regain than lyocell, and dyes readily with reactive and direct dyes that bind to cellulose hydroxyl groups, giving deep, bright shades. Its less ordered structure makes it weak when wet: regular viscose loses close to half its tenacity wet, so fabrics can stretch, shrink or distort in washing and are often labeled for gentle care. It drapes fluidly, creases readily and chars rather than melts. Cellulose-based knits shed more fiber fragments by mass than polyester in one laundering study, but rayon and cotton fragments biodegraded in aerobic water tests while polyester persisted.

How it is identified

Burn tests are indicative only; viscose burns quickly like cotton, with a paper-like smell and little soft ash. The microscope is more useful: regular viscose shows longitudinal striations and a serrated cross-section, distinct from the round profile of lyocell and the twisted ribbon of cotton. FTIR confirms cellulose but not the process. Plant-source terms such as bamboo or eucalyptus describe the pulp, not a different fiber; if the cellulose was dissolved and regenerated, the fiber is still rayon or viscose.

History

Timeline

1892Charles Cross and Edward Bevan discovered the viscose process in England. [3]
1967 to 1972Finnish viscose workers exposed to carbon disulfide showed a 4.7-fold excess of heart-disease deaths, which disappeared after exposures were reduced. [4]
1993A South Korean viscose factory linked to mass carbon disulfide poisoning in the late 1980s closed. [5]
2013Canopy launched its CanopyStyle initiative in October to keep ancient and endangered forests out of viscose supply chains. [6]
2013Four US retailers agreed to pay 1.26 million dollars in FTC civil penalties for labeling rayon textiles as bamboo. [7]
2022Kohl's and Walmart agreed to pay a total of 5.5 million dollars in FTC civil penalties over bamboo and eco claims for rayon products. [8]
2024Man-made cellulosic fibers reached about 8.4 million tonnes, about 6% of all fiber, with viscose the dominant type. [1]

Viscose belongs to the early development of manufactured cellulose fibers, initially associated with artificial silk. It later became a major staple and filament category. Process chemistry and plant-level recovery remain important distinctions.

The deeper record

The viscose process was patented in 1892 by the British chemists Charles Cross, Edward Bevan and Clayton Beadle and industrialized in the early twentieth century as artificial silk. Its solvent, carbon disulfide, soon became an occupational-health story: an Italian physician reported carbon disulfide poisoning to the 1928 international occupational health congress, and a Finnish cohort showed a 4.7-fold excess of heart-disease deaths in 1967 to 1972 that disappeared after exposures were cut. In South Korea, where rayon manufacture had been transferred from Japan, a viscose factory produced a mass poisoning in the late 1980s and closed in 1993. Studies in Chinese plants later found color-vision effects below the exposure limit.

Labeling and law

Under 16 CFR 303.7, rayon is a manufactured fiber of regenerated cellulose in which substituents have replaced not more than 15% of the hydrogens of the hydroxyl groups. Because the rule incorporates ISO 2076, viscose is also acceptable in the United States, and modal and lyocell have their own permitted names. In the EU the name is viscose under Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011. Pulp-sourcing claims are separate from fiber-content labeling and usually rest on forest certification such as FSC or PEFC; branded lower-impact viscose, such as LENZING ECOVERO, depends on producer certificates that buyers should check.

This describes what rules and standards cover. It is not legal advice; jurisdiction, product form and current rule text control.

Frequently asked

Is bamboo fabric really rayon?

In most cases, yes. Soft bamboo apparel is usually viscose rayon made from bamboo pulp, and the chemistry is the same as wood-based viscose. The FTC requires such products to be labeled rayon or viscose, optionally 'made from bamboo', and has penalized retailers for calling them bamboo.

Why did my viscose shrink?

Regular viscose absorbs a lot of water, swells and loses much of its strength when wet, so agitation and heat can pull the fabric out of shape and shrink it. Cold, gentle washing, flat drying and avoiding the dryer prevent most problems; gentle steaming can recover some shrinkage.

Is viscose natural or synthetic?

Neither category fits exactly. Viscose is a manufactured fiber made from natural cellulose, usually wood pulp, which is chemically dissolved and regenerated. It is often called semi-synthetic or regenerated cellulose, and legally it is a manufactured fiber named rayon or viscose.

What is the difference between viscose and rayon?

In the United States, rayon is the generic name for regenerated cellulose fibers, and viscose is an acceptable name for fiber made by the viscose process. In the EU and much of the world, viscose is the standard label name. They usually describe the same fiber.

Sources

Cite this page

Chaos. (2026). Viscose. In Fibers of Earth: An independent textile atlas. https://www.hendrickresearch.com/fibers/materials/viscose/