Lululemon invests in nylon recycling startup
Syntetica is focused on chemically recycling postconsumer nylon-rich textiles into valuable materials
Vancouver-based activewear brand Lululemon recently invested in the $30 million Series A round raised by Syntetica — a French startup developing a novel approach to recycling nylon.
Syntetica aims to recycle two types of difficult-to-transform nylon — Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 — with a clear focus on clean practices during the transformation process. Backers of the latest round of funding include Lululemon, Victoria's Secret, and Etam. With the additional funding, the project could be live as early as next year.
Syntetica's Series A was also backed by a large apparel manufacturer, MAS Holdings — "a recognition of how significant the problem has become," CEO and co-founder Marco Bertone said.
Syntetica plans to scale environmentally friendly textile recycling
The funding will support the construction of Syntetica's first commercial demonstration facility, based in France, which will process hundreds of metric tons of textiles each year. The demo plant will be developed in partnership with Michelin's Center for Sustainable Materials in Clermont-Ferrand.
The process is designed for postconsumer textiles, which account for roughly 80 percent of textile waste, rather than manufacturing scrap.
"For decades, mixed nylon waste has been considered too complex and too expensive to recycle at scale," says Marco Bertone, co-founder and CEO of Syntetica. "We have shown that it is possible to recover high-value materials from the waste streams the industry has historically written off. This funding allows us to move from breakthrough chemistry to industrial reality and accelerate the transition to more circular materials."
