Lululemon Unveils First-of-Its-Kind Recycled Nylon

Alexandra Harrell
·3 min read

It’s no secret that Lululemon uses a lot of nylon; its beloved Align line features more than 80 percent nylon and generates $1 billion in sales. Considering the (quite literal) mountains of textile waste all that athleisure produces, the yoga pants purveyor wants to recycle its $98 Align leggings (for example) back into leggings upon end-of-life without sacrificing quality.

To do so, the alleged greenwasher has teamed with Samsara Eco, an Australian startup that uses enzyme-based technology to recycle plastics, to create what the duo has described as the world’s first infinitely recycled nylon 6.6 and polyester from textile waste.

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Lululemon showed interest in textile-to-textile recycling last May by taking a minority investment stake in the Sydney-based B Corp, though the amount was undisclosed. Ultimately, Samsara Eco raised $37 million from investors like independent investment company Breakthrough Victoria and Temasek, with Lululemon being its first apparel partner, according to TechCrunch.

And now, the two have debuted the first enzymatically recycled nylon 6.6 product.

“Until now, textile-to-textile nylon 6.6 has been unrecyclable; the samples we have created with Lululemon represent a world-first breakthrough for the future of textile waste,” said Paul Riley, founder and CEO of Samsara Eco. “Our work with Lululemon shows the potential to give clothes an infinite life.”

Using recycled nylon with the enviro-tech startup’s patent-pending technology, Lululemon successfully created samples of its Swiftly Tech long-sleeve top—marking the first time this type of nylon has been recycled in this way. Samsara Eco’s tech extracts the nylon 6.6 from end-of-life stage textiles and combines it with other non-textile materials to create recycled nylon.

Utilizing its “library” of plastic-eating enzymes, the manufacturing process is done in a matter of hours and at low temperatures, as maintaining a low carbon footprint during the “infinite recycling process” is a core tenet for the startup, Riley said.

“Compared to the production of virgin nylon 6.6., Samsara Eco’s infinite recycling process reduces emissions and has the potential to save tens of millions of tons of CO2 entering our environment every year,” Riley continued. “We’ve started with nylon 6.6, but this sets the trajectory of what’s possible for recycling across a range of industries as we continue to expanding our library of plastic-eating enzymes. This is one giant leap for the future of sustainable fashion and circularity.”

In fact, more than 90 percent of the nylon used in the Swiftly samples was produced using Samsara Eco’s enzymatic recycling process. And those samples allegedly offer the same fit, feel and function as their virgin alternatives.

“Our enzymatic recycling is the only solution on the market that allows the textile industry to unlock nylon 6.6 amongst mixed feedstocks to prevent textiles from ending up in landfills,” added Sarah Cook, chief commercial and operations officer at Samsara Eco.

This milestone in the duo’s multiyear collaboration is just one of the ways Lululemon is working toward its goal of making 100 percent of its products with preferred materials and end-of-use solutions by 2030.

“The Lululemon Swiftly top samples go beyond material innovation—they represent the exciting possibilities and impact that can be achieved through collaboration and cross-industry partnership,” Yogendra Dandapure, vice president of raw materials innovation at Lululemon, said. “This breakthrough not only signals a turning point for sustainable innovation in apparel but for all industries looking to shift toward more circular models.”