Canadian athletic apparel company Lululemon has entered into a multi-year collaboration with California-based biotechnology firm ZymoChem to expand its use of sustainable bio-based nylon in its products.

Lululemon said it would work with ZymoChem to sustainably transform a key building block of nylon 6,6, a foundational material used in many of Lululemon’s products, including its Align and Wunder Train leggings.

The athletic company started working with ZymoChem last year with an initial investment to support innovative technologies used to create a bio-based version of adipic acid, one of the key chemical building blocks of nylon 6,6 traditionally produced from petroleum. The next phase of the partnership will focus on scaling ZymoChem’s technologies to support the commercialisation of this bio-based alternative.

Yogendra Dandapure, vice president of raw materials innovation at Lululemon, said in a statement: “What truly sets ZymoChem apart is their groundbreaking technology, which is capable of producing a bio-based material to create sustainable nylon 6,6 that provides the same look, feel, and quality expected from our high-performance products.

“By continuing to expand our partnerships with forward-thinking leaders like ZymoChem, we’re creating multiple pathways to transition to sustainable materials across our product portfolio.”

This collaboration builds on Lululemon’s partnerships with other sustainable materials leaders, including Geno, to expand lower-impact bio-based nylon alternatives and with Australian enviro-tech startup Samsara Eco to unveil the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product, proving that textile-to-textile recycling is possible for this high quality, complex fibre.

According to Lululemon’s 2023 impact report, nylon makes up a “large portion” of its materials. Nylon is the company’s second-largest procured material by weight, representing 31 percent of materials used in its products. It said it was investing in innovations that can aid in the scaling of alternative nylon to help reach its target to transition from virgin nylon fibre to 100 percent renewable, recycled, or newly created fibre by 2030. It also set itself a target of launching alternative nylon solutions by 2025.