Recycled Polyester Partnerships

The challenge is enormous

Inditex, the world’s largest fashion retailer and the owner of brands such as Zara and Bershka, has announced a major investment in sustainable materials. The Spanish company has signed a three-year agreement with Ambercycle, a Los Angeles-based material science company that produces recycled polyester from textile waste. Inditex will purchase a significant portion of Ambercycle’s annual production of Cycora, a textile-to-textile recycled polyester that seamlessly replaces conventional polyester, for more than 70 million euros ($74 million).

The deal is part of Inditex’s commitment to make 100% of its textile products from materials with a smaller environmental footprint by 2030. The company also expects that 25% of its textile fibers will be made from next-generation materials that do not yet exist at an industrial scale. The partnership with Ambercycle will help the material science company scale up its production and support its first commercial-scale textile regeneration factory, which is expected to start operating around 2025. Inditex has also launched a limited-edition collection of Zara Athleticz that features pieces made with 50% Cycora content.