Gap Inc. and Ambercycle recently announced efforts to leverage textile-to-textile recycled materials in Athleta products. Ambercycle’s cycora® regenerated polyester is a high-performance material created from end-of-life textiles that seamlessly replaces conventional polyester. Starting in 2026, Athleta – a Certified B Corporation – plans to become the first performance apparel brand to use cycora® at scale.
Athleta CEO, Chris Blakeslee added, “As a mission-driven, B Corp-certified brand, Athleta is committed to reducing our environmental footprint by using recycled materials like cycora®, which not only aligns with our values but also meets our uncompromising quality standards.”
Athleta’s versatile apparel assortment is designed for women by women, with inclusivity at its core. Athleta integrates performance and technical features across its collection to support women across their entire lifestyle—from yoga and training to travel and recovery.
“As the demand for circular materials rises, we are delighted to collaborate with like-minded brands in the performance sector, such as Athleta. Together, we are not only creating high-quality garments but also driving forward the circular fashion movement,” said Shay Sethi, CEO of Ambercycle.
“Gap Inc. is committed to evolving our supply chain and product development process in ways that help us deliver innovative products for our customers while reducing our environmental footprint,” added Dan Fibiger, Head of Global Sustainability at Gap Inc.
Ambercycle’s proprietary molecular regeneration technology uses discarded polyester as feedstock in the production of cycora®, a high-performance material designed to reproduce the quality of virgin-grade polyester, while reducing industry greenhouse gas emissions and dependency on landfilling or incinerating end-of-life textiles. The news demonstrates growing demand for circular materials made from textile-to-textile regeneration.
Fibiger continued, “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.”
