Gap Inc has signed an agreement with Syre, a textile-to-textile recycler founded by H&M Group, to use 10,000 tons per year of the company’s recycled polyester across its portfolio of brands. The partnership is the latest in a string of deals between brands and recyclers that are working to manufacture recycled fabrics at scale after years of fits and starts.
Gap VP of global sustainability Dan Fibiger says Syre was an attractive partner because of its localised model that can be integrated into the retailer’s global supply chain. Syre is currently running a pilot programme in North Carolina and plans to build additional production facilities in Vietnam and Portugal in the coming years.
Polyester is the most widely produced fibre globally, making up 54 per cent of production in 2022, according to Textile Exchange. Until recently, the main source of recycled polyester was made of plastic bottles, a cheap option that sheds microplastics into water supplies and ultimately sends polyester garments to landfill. New regulations around extended producer responsibility (EPR) and fast-approaching climate targets have brands shifting their focus to more sustainable raw materials strategies.
In addition to Gap, Syre announced new agreements with Target and Houdini Sportswear, a Swedish technical outdoor brand. Also this month, Lululemon signed a 10-year agreement with nylon recycler Samsara Eco, and Mango became Circulose’s first brand partner since its bankruptcy last year. These recent investments represent progress for an industry that’s been slow to forge meaningful partnerships. Importantly, each of these deals are offtake agreements, meaning the brands have agreed to purchase the materials before they’ve even been produced — something sustainability advocates have encouraged to ensure the viability of recyclers, which, in some cases, have struggled with low demand for their fabrics.
Once a sustainable fashion darling, Renewcell’s failure proves systemic change can’t happen without significant industry overhaul.
Textile-to-textile recycling can have a meaningful impact on a brand’s overall carbon footprint, particularly because the majority of the fashion industry’s emissions are from energy use and raw materials. But it’s important to consider whether brands see recycled fabrics as true replacements for virgin materials, or as an avenue for increasing total production volumes, says Ruth MacGilp, a fashion campaigner for Action Speaks Louder.
“Ultimately, the elephant in the room is we haven’t turned off the tap yet on [generating] new polyester garments,” MacGilp says. “At the same time, there are a lot of polyester garments that already exist in the world that we need to do something with. Action is needed on both points.”
Over the last few years, Gap joined the Future Supplier Initiative to help its suppliers transition to low-carbon technologies and invested in programmes that aim to reduce water waste and improve wastewater testing. But the retailer also views adopting preferred fibres as a “lever we can pull in terms of hitting our climate goals”, Fibiger says. Ten thousand tons of recycled polyester is enough to produce over 30,000 pairs of leggings, according to Gap. That could help decrease the volume of virgin polyester in the company’s supply chain, as long as actions are taken to reduce new polyester production. Gap has committed to sourcing 45 per cent of its polyester from recycled sources by the end of this year, less ambitious than companies like Adidas and H&M, which have committed to using 100 per cent recycled polyester.
Despite its promises, textile-to-textile recycling remains limited by nascent infrastructure. For one, securing a reliable stream of feedstock to produce recycled fabric at scale has been challenging for a number of innovators, including Circulose.
Syre spent the last year developing relationships with commercial sorters in Central America, Asia and Europe, which will provide the company with textile waste containing 90 per cent or more polyester fibres, the ideal composition for its recycling process, says Syre CEO Dennis Nobelius. While that will help Syre recapture garments made primarily from polyester, it doesn’t solve for the billions of textiles that are composed of complex blends including cotton, spandex, nylon and more.
“Right now, companies that do textile recycling have certain limits on how many impurities can exist in the feed [stock] that they’re taking so that it makes economic sense,” says Erha Andini, a chemical engineering PhD candidate at the University of Delaware who studies textiles. “Mixed textile recycling is so much harder to control — every day you don’t know what you’re getting.”
Andini says funding to advance textile recycling research is limited, especially in the US where climate investments have been deprioritised in recent months. That will make it difficult to find near-term solutions for the large volume of clothing that recyclers like Syre cannot accept into their systems.
Much of the innovation today instead comes from the private sector, which is beginning to recognise its role in tackling the 92-million-tonne fashion waste problem, even when that means higher costs for brands and consumers.
“Textile-to-textile is going to require some kind of catalytic commitment, and we’re committed to being a part of the community of brands that helps move the industry in that direction,” says Fibiger. “We recognise that some of these investments are going to represent a price premium and that’s a decision we’re willing to make. Eventually, we hope the prices will be on par with everything else.” Gap doesn’t currently have prices available for its recycled polyester pieces, nor a timeline for when the collection will be live.
The long-term impact of Gap’s transition to recycled polyester will depend largely on whether its partnership with Syre is one that lasts and expands over time.
“I actually do think these agreements can be positive because it shows that brands are putting their money where their mouth is,” says MacGilp. “As long as these aren’t limited collections and they help stop the tap on the production of virgin fibres.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
