ZARA launches first Athleticz collection using recycled polyester

ZARA has unveiled a new capsule collection across its Athleticz line, featuring technical pieces made with up to 50% cycora content.

The launch forms part of a new collaboration between ZARA owner Inditex and LA-based material science company Ambercycle, which allows Inditex to buy a portion of the annual production of cycora - a material made from post-industrial and post consumer polyester waste.

It marks a "key" step in supporting the construction of Ambercycle’s first commercial-scale textile regeneration factory.

Shay Sethi, CEO of Ambercycle, said: "Ambercycle’s goal is to enable circularity by replacing virgin polyester with textile-to-textile regenerated cycora. Our partnership with Inditex represents a monumental leap towards realising circularity at scale in the fashion industry."

Inditex aims to have 100% of its textile products to be made exclusively from materials with a smaller environmental footprint by 2030.

Javier Losada, Chief Sustainability Officer at Inditex, added:"At Inditex, we are committed to achieving circularity in the fashion industry. We want to drive innovation to scale up new solutions, processes and materials to achieve textile to textile recycling.

"Ambercycle’s groundbreaking molecular regeneration technology transforms end-of-life textiles into new materials, effectively reducing waste and emissions in the production cycle."