Addressing one of the biggest recycling challenges– blended textiles – leading fast fashion retailer Zara has released its first collection developed with recycled poly-cotton textile waste.
Zara teamed with textile recycling firm Circ to release a line of women’s apparel made with recycled polyester and cotton fibres.
The Circ x Zara collection features lyocell garments made with 50 percent recycled poly-cotton waste, and polyester garments made with 43 percent recycled poly-cotton waste.
It has been said that Circ’s hydrothermal process liquefies the polyester, before heat and pressure separate the liquid polymer from the solid cotton to reclaim the cellulosic and synthetic materials. The recycled cotton is turned into fluffy flakes before becoming a pulp that can be subbed in for wood pulp, which makes up traditional lyocell. Meanwhile, the polyester content can be pelletised and extruded into new fibres.
This is the first-time recycled polyester and lyocell clothing manufactured from poly-cotton textile waste is in the hands of consumers, and important steps are being taken toward making circularity the new standard.
Peter Majeranowski, CEO, Circ said the partnership “signals a seismic shift in how the fashion industry and consumers view what is possible in sustainability.”
