Dive Brief:
- Gap Inc. will begin using regenerated polyester from material science manufacturer Ambercycle in Athleta apparel beginning in 2026, according to a Tuesday press release.
- Ambercycle’s proprietary Cycora fabric is a “high-performance material created from end-of-life textiles” and is designed to replace conventional polyester while “reducing industry greenhouse gas emissions and dependency on landfilling or incinerating end-of-life textiles,” per the release.
- In October 2023, Zara parent company Inditex signed a three-year agreement to buy “a significant portion” of Cycora’s annual production for more than 70 million euros, or approximately $76 million at current exchange rates. Ambercycle said at the time the deal would support the construction of its first commercial-scale factory.
Dive Insight:
This will be the first time a performance apparel brand has used Cycora at scale, according to the release.
“As the demand for circular materials rises, we are delighted to collaborate with like-minded brands in the performance sector, such as Athleta,” Shay Sethi, CEO of Ambercycle, said in the release. “Together, we are not only creating high-quality garments but also driving forward the circular fashion movement.”
Cycora is made from discarded polyester, which is used as the raw material in Ambercycle’s proprietary molecular regeneration technology, per the release. The resulting product has the quality of virgin-grade polyester, and current demand for Cycora is evidence of a growing interest in “circular materials made from textile-to-textile regeneration,” said the company.
"Ambercycle's groundbreaking technology for transforming end-of-life textiles into new materials not only enables a more sustainable supply of high-performance fabrics, but it has the potential to cut waste and emissions and has the potential to advance circularity at scale," Dan Fibiger, head of global sustainability at Athleta parent company Gap Inc., said in the release.
Recycled materials are becoming increasingly popular in athleticwear. Lululemon announced in February that it had partnered with environmental technology firm Samsara Eco to introduce an enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product, while both Nike and athletics brand On announced their own recycled materials initiatives in 2022.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based Ambercycle, established in 2015, received a $5 million investment in November 2023 from DRIVE Catalyst, the investment arm of Taiwan-based Far Eastern Group, which makes virgin and recycled polyester textiles. The funds are earmarked for strategic efforts “to scale textile-to-textile regeneration in the apparel industry,” per a release.
