REI to put Cycora into its products in new three-year deal with Ambercycle
Outdoor retail co-operative and product manufacturer REI has signed a new offtake agreement to use Ambercycle’s textile-to-textile recycled polyester, Cycora, in its clothing and accessories. The agreement is for the next three years.
REI said that its use of recycled polyester has increased five-fold since 2020. In 2024, more than 50% of the polyester in REI Co-op brand products came from recycled sources.
It said its new partnership with Ambercycle would help it build on this progress, while also helping to “close the loop” by creating new textile products made from waste textile feedstocks.
Initially, it will use Cycora in what it called “priority performance categories”, and later broaden this out “as supply scales”.
In parallel, Ambercycle will expand its molecular regeneration capacity to recapture end-of-life textiles and return them to fabric supply chains. It said this would help “build the backbone of a lower-carbon material system”.
At the time of the announcement, chief executive of Ambercycle, Shay Sethi, said REI was “a uniquely powerful partner”. He said that by integrating Cycora, REI would help set a new standard for the entire outdoor industry, “proving that high-performance gear and circular systems can go hand in hand”.
