Zara owner Inditex to acquire 2,000 tons of fiber recycled from cotton waste

Circulose® is produced by Renewcell, a Swedish company, and is made entirely from recycled cotton textile waste. Inditex has pledged to only use textile raw materials with minimal environmental impact by 2030.

Inditex will integrate the innovative pulp Circulose®, made from textile waste by Renewcell in Sweden, into its product line. Under an agreement with fiber producer Tangshan Sanyou, Inditex's suppliers will receive the first batch of 2,000 tons of raw materials, made from a mixture of Circulose and cellulose from sustainably managed forests.

Renewcell has invested in its first industrial-scale factory to produce Circulose, an innovative textile pulp made from cotton waste and recycled during the chemical process. As part of its staggered launch plan for this new material, Inditex plans to continue adding this fully recycled pulp to its fabrics through its extensive supplier network in the coming seasons.

The addition of this fiber to Inditex's product line marks a step forward in the group's roadmap to achieve its commitment to only use textile fibers with minimal environmental impact by 2030, with at least 25% of fibers coming from the next generation of fibers that have not yet reached industrial scale, consistent with efforts by Canopy to support the next generation of cellulose fibers.

On Aug 4, 2022, Renewcell announced that it had officially partnered with Zara, a fast-fashion brand under the Inditex Group, to launch a capsule collection made from Circulose. Circulose will soon be commercially operated at the new plant in Sundsvall, Sweden, and plans to continue reducing landfill waste by creating value through circular supply chains with other brands.

At the time, Renewcell's CEO Patrik Lundström stated, "Zara is one of the world's largest fashion brands, demonstrating the power to truly transform the industry. Collaborating with global brands like this will turn our vision of changing fashion on a large scale into a reality. We are excited to launch this collection made from Circulose, which is the latest step in our ongoing collaboration."

For Zara, the partnership was also part of Inditex's Sustainable Innovation Center, an open innovation platform that aims to work with startups, academic institutions, and technology centers to promote and expand initiatives to reduce the environmental footprint of fashion and help drive more sustainable production.

In addition to the Inditex Group, American denim brand Levi Strauss has also signed an agreement with Renewcell to purchase Circulose fiber materials and add them to organic cotton to produce a denim product. Renewcell also stated on its website that Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M agreed to use Circulose materials in its brands within five years in 2020.

Earlier this month, Renewcell revealed that as of the end of Sep, it had sold approximately 14,400 tons of Circulose fiber materials.