Meet the woman saving ancient trees from becoming pulp

Nicole Rycroft is one of a growing crew of people who work tirelessly at changing how we affect the Earth. Her focus is on protecting ancient and indigenous trees. By collaborating with business partners in the fashion and publishing industries she is transforming supply chains to prevent these trees from becoming wood pulp. "I have always cared deeply about our natural world and our forest ecosystems in particular," Rycroft says. Forests produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and are fundamental in the fight against climate change. Yet they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Every year, 150-million trees disappear into viscose for clothing, 2.3-billion trees disappear into packing every year. "These are big footprints on forest ecosystems," she says. "There is no reason for us to be using 800-or 1,000-year-old trees to be making novels, pizza boxes and clothing." Viscose and other cellulosic fibres such as lyocell and modal are the third most commonly used ...