Inditex to acquire 2,000 tonnes of recycled cotton waste

Zara-owner Inditex is acquiring the first available 2,000 tonnes of fibre made from Circulose, produced by Swedish company Renewcell from recycled cotton textile waste.

The retail group said it has signed an agreement with fibre producer Tanshang Sanyou, which carries out the industrial process of transforming the pulp into textile fibre, to acquire 2,000 tonnes of raw material made from a blend of Circulose and cellulose sourced from sustainably managed forests.

Circulose is an innovative textile pulp made from cotton waste that is recycled in a chemical process and Inditex said it will add the fully recycled pulp into its fabrics over the coming seasons through its supply chain.

The addition of this new fibre to Inditex’s ranges marks a step on the retail group's roadmap to meet its commitment of only using textile fibres with a smaller impact on the environment by 2030. This includes ensuring at least 25 percent of its fibres come from next-generation fibres that currently have no industrial scale, in line with Canopy’s efforts to champion next-generation cellulose fibres.

This is the latest sustainable move from Inditex, which last week signed a three-year agreement with Los Angeles-based material science company Ambercycle to buy its recycled polyester in a deal worth more than 70 million euros.