Fashion multinational invests millions in circular textile partnership

Zara’s parent company Inditex is taking steps to advance polyester recycling in the fashion industry.

Inditex has joined forces with US end-of-life specialist Ambercycle to scale circular textiles using its new material, cycora. They have signed a three-year contract which will see Inditex incorporate EUR 70 million worth of recycled polyester into its collections.

The purchasing commitment will help Ambercycle establish its first commercial-scale textile recycling facility. The Los Angeles-based company sources material from both post-industrial and post-consumer waste.

Production of Cycora at Ambercycle’s new plant is expected to begin around 2025. Inditex is looking for a recycling content of at least 25% while certain pieces in the Zara Athleticz range will contain up to 50% cycora. They will be available in the retailer’s online shop.

Leap forward

‘Ambercycle’s goal is to replace virgin polyester with textile-to-textile regenerated cycora,’ says ceo Shay Sethi. ‘Our partnership with Inditex represents a monumental leap towards realising circularity at scale in the fashion industry.’

Inditex’ sustainability specialist Javier Losada adds: ‘We want to drive innovation,’ and praises Ambercycle’s ‘groundbreaking’ molecular regeneration technology for effectively reducing waste and emissions in the production cycle.

Losada points out the collaboration is part of Inditex’s Sustainability Innovation Hub, a platform which supports start-ups, academic institutions and tech centres to promote new materials, technologies and processes that benefit circular fashion.

In its latest sustainability report, Inditex claims to be ‘one of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations’. The company took 73rd on Corporate Knights’ Global 100 ranking, which is based on an assessment of economic and ESG indicators.