The fashion and textile industries are two of the most polluting industries worldwide which are quite destructive to the planet in their current state both economically and environmentally. Major problems the fashion industry needs to address are its dependence on resource-intense and polluting virgin raw materials and finding a valuable use for the more than 92 million tons of textile waste that are incinerated or landfilled at a great environmental cost around the globe annually.

Circulose, developed by Renewcell , is a biodegradable raw material used to produce textile fibres for fashion like viscose and lyocell. Fibres produced with Circulose are said to help brands limit the use of virgin textile fibres, which reduces the climate and environmental impact caused by raw material production and waste

For Zara, the collaboration is part of Inditex’s Sustainability Innovation Hub, an open-innovation platform. The aim is to work alongside start-ups, academic institutions, and tech centers to promote and scale initiatives developing new materials, technologies, and processes that reduce the environmental footprint of the fashion and help advance toward more sustainable production.

Renewcell will recycle textile waste, including worn-out jeans and production scraps, to manufacture 60,000 metric tonnes of Circulose dissolving pulp per year. It is said to be the first of its kind and could potentially save hundreds of millions of garments from landfills and incineration each year, contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the textile industry. With a business model focused on innovative sustainability and customer service, Zara and Inditex are committed to achieve climate neutrality by 2040

Picture from Flickr by dreamslink0707