Zara x Circulose Fashion Capsule Shows Off Sustainable Circular Fibers – Sourcing Journal

The first products from Zara‘s Renewcell collaboration are now available on the Inditex brand’s e-commerce site.

Garments in the Zara x Circulose capsule collection, launched Aug. 4, are made with Circulose, a branded material produced from 100 percent recycled textiles. Styles include long dresses with cutout details as well as open-weave sweaters and a ribbed co-ord set, all in a natural, undyed color.

Circulose, developed by Renewcell, is a biodegradable raw material used to produce textile fibers like viscose and lyocell for the fashion market. Fibers produced with Circulose help brands to limit the use of virgin textile fibers, reducing the climate and environmental impact caused by raw material production and waste.

“Zara is one of the largest fashion brands in the world, a testament to its power to influence real change within the industry,” Renewcell CEO Patrik Lundström said. “Collaborations with such global brands bring our vision to change fashion at scale to life and our rapid growth would not be possible without partners like Zara joining this shift. We are delighted to reveal this collection made with Circulose as the latest step in our ongoing collaboration.”

Zara’s website includes a landing page for Renewcell educating consumers on how the fiber technology works. In a video on the site, German Garcia Ibañez, head of sustainable product and supply chain for Inditex, says Circulose “demonstrates that circularity in this industry is possible,” adding that garments made with the fiber show “no difference” compared with those produced from traditional virgin inputs.

Soon to be up and running at commercial scale in its new plant in Sundsvall, Sweden, the 100 percent textile-to-textile recycled material Circulose by Renewcell continues to save waste from landfills by creating value through circular supply chains with brands around the world, now with Zara.

The new plant is expected to recycle an annual 60,000 tons of material. In March, Renewcell signed a letter of intent with Daiwabo Rayon Co., a Japanese cellulosic fiber producer, for a long-term commercial collaboration around man-made cellulosic fiber production. The agreement affirms the two companies’ intent to work together to supply textile fibers made using Circulose.

In January, Renewcell signed multiyear purchasing agreements with three European textile sorters, ensuring an abundant supply of clothing castoffs for its new, larger facility in Ortviken next year. The deals with Soex in Germany, Texaid in Switzerland and Sweden’s Sysav will lock in thousands of tons of textile waste each year for conversion into Circulose.

For Zara, this collaboration is part of parent company Inditex’s “Sustainability Innovation Hub,” an open-innovation platform. The aim is to work alongside startups, academic institutions and tech centers to promote and scale initiatives developing new materials, technologies and processes that reduce the environmental footprint of fashion and help advance towards more sustainable production.

Zara and Inditex aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2040.

Additional reporting by Jessica Binns.