Adidas, Athleta, Helly Hansen, Lululemon, VF Corp and Sympatex are among companies that have promised to replace their use of virgin polyester with recycled polyester to shift global volume from an average of 14% to 45% by 2025.

High percentage rPET commitments from brands are essential to reaching the 2025 45% recycled volume target and for building critical mass to reach an absolute 90% recycled volume share by 2030, according to TE. 

Rebecca Johansson, sustainability and R&D Manager at Helly Hansen, said: “Helly Hansen is committed to reducing its dependency on fossil fuels and its overall environmental footprint. We recognise that transferring to the use of recycled raw materials is an important action towards that commitment and are proud to be part of the founding cohort of this joint industry initiative.”

Companies committing to the initiative will be required to annually report their polyester consumption to Textile Exchange’s Corporate Fibre and Materials Benchmark survey.

Katja Schreiber, senior vice-president of sustainability at adidas, said: “We are committed to only be using recycled polyester from 2024. This year we will launch the first running shoe that is made to be remade. By 2025, nine out of ten adidas articles will be sustainable: Made with recycled materials, made to be remade or made with nature."