Two Lycra fibres made from 100% textile waste
Fibre producer The Lycra Company has launched its first performance products made from 100% textile waste, Coolmax EcoMade and Thermolite EcoMade.
Lycra partnered with Japanese trading company Itochu on this new strategic development, the first of “several” the company is currently working on in the area of textile and garment recycling. Itochu will handle sales and marketing within Japan.
In line with Lycra’s Planet Agenda sustainability platform, both products are created following a “unique” depolymerisation and refining process to convert scraps of textile waste from partnering garment manufacturers. The new fibres have properties comparable to virgin polyester, the Delaware-based company said.
Chief commercial officer at Lycra, Julien Born, commented: “We are pleased to announce our alliance with Itochu in helping to address textile waste, which represents a substantial sustainability challenge as the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is sent to landfills or incinerated every second.”
Lycra has made its Coolmax and Thermolite fibres from rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) bottles for “many years” and it will continue to offer this in parallel with products made from textile waste in the future, a press release said.
