Today, less than one percent of all clothing is recycled into new clothes. We have the technology to change that. Our mission is to end ‘waste’ in fashion—to turn yesterday’s clothing into tomorrow’s new material.
Ten percent of global carbon emissions comes from the fashion industry. A significant amount of those emissions come from the 87% of all clothing that are either incinerated or sent to landfills. Of all the materials that are made to clothe us today, polyester is the most produced—and most landfilled. That’s why we’re focused on regenerating polyester: To help tackle the problem where it hurts the most. In the ground, polyester is a powerful problem. Above ground, it’s a powerful resource.
Our solution is cycora®: a high-performing and fully circular material, regenerated from the molecules of end-of-life textiles that would have otherwise become ‘waste’.
cycora® is circular—meaning that it mimics the circular life and death cycle of natural ecosystems, repurposing all parts to birth new life. Thanks to the nature of our molecular regeneration, cycora® has the same quality and performance of new yarns—and at the end of its life, it’s able to be continuously regenerated, again and again. Like a tree turns back to soil, and soil back to seed.
Synthetic textiles are produced so widely because they offer some very desirable qualities: they’re strong, and they last. But durability and longevity are inherently at odds with a short lifespan; in the landfill, those attributes add up to vast quantities of material that take eons to degrade, and that incurred a high carbon cost that will compound for much longer. Things that are built to last should get to last.
Unlike natural fibers, the durability of synthetic molecules allows them to be recycled without any degradation in quality. A molecule of polyester is strong. It remains strong whether the garment is new, protecting its wearer on a mountaintop, or in a landfill. In the strength of synthetics, we see an opportunity. Through science, we’ve unlocked the ability for the fashion industry—and our global community—to make and wear synthetics responsibly, in continuous circulation.
The desire to recycle synthetics isn’t new; but historically, it’s been difficult—and in need of a scientific breakthrough to recycle at a meaningful scale. Effective recycling comes down to separation. Clothing is made up of complex combinations of materials: Fabric blends, buttons, zippers, dyes, and finishes. A technology capable of optimally separating those components hadn’t yet existed—until our scientists invented it.
Step 4: Make molecules into pellets. Most clothing today is made out of small pellets, which are traditionally made from extracting oil. From the molecules of regenerated polyester, we make pellets that hold the exact same molecular structure as new ones—but with old textiles instead of oil.
Step 5: Turn pellets into yarns and fabric. Our pellets are then extruded and strung into strong, durable yarns—which can then be turned into cycora® fabric: Made to last, and tested to perform at the same quality as new, virgin material.
Step 6: Repeat. After a cycora® garment has been given a long life by its wearer, when it finally reaches its end, the garment can restart this same process and become new all over again. Since there’s no degradation in quality, those very same molecules can follow this circular loop, continuously.
