Zara owner Inditex wants to purchase the first available 2,000 tonnes of Circulose fibers, made from recycled cotton textile waste by Swedish company Renewcell.
The retail group said it had signed an agreement to purchase 2,000 tonnes of raw material with Chinese fiber manufacturer Tanshang Sanyou, which carries out the industrial process of converting the pulp into textile fibres. This consists of a mixture of circulose and cellulose from sustainably managed forests.
Cotton waste will be used in fabrics for new items
Circulose is an innovative pulp made from cotton waste that is recycled in a chemical process. Inditex said it plans to incorporate the fully recycled pulp into its fabrics through its supply chain in the coming seasons.
The addition of this new fiber to Inditex’s range is a step on the retail group’s path to only using textile fibers with a lower environmental impact by 2030. This also means that at least 25 percent of the fibers come from next-generation fibers that are not currently produced on an industrial scale. This is in line with the efforts of environmental organization Canopy, which advocates for next-generation cellulosic fibers.
This is Inditex’s latest move to become more sustainable. Just last week, the group signed a three-year contract with Los Angeles-based materials research company Ambercycle to purchase its recycled polyester worth more than 70 million euros.
This translated article originally appeared on FashionUnited.uk.