Under the new partnership, Inditex has committed to facilitating the expansion of textile-to-textile recycled polyester by purchasing a substantial portion of Ambercycle's annual production of cycora, an innovative material derived from post-industrial and post-consumer polyester waste.

The deal is part of a wider attempt to ensure 100% of Inditex's textile products are crafted exclusively from materials with a reduced environmental footprint by 2030. The fashion conglomerate is actively fostering the inclusion of next-generation materials that are not yet industrially widespread and plans to replace conventional polyester with cycora in its products.

This substantial purchase commitment is a key step towards the establishment of Ambercycle's first commercial-scale textile regeneration facility.

Production of cycora at the plant is expected to begin in 2025, and the material will be used in Inditex products over the following three years.

“We want to drive innovation to scale up new solutions, processes, and materials to achieve textile-to-textile recycling,” says Javier Losada, Inditex’s chief strategy officer.

“Ambercycle’s molecular regeneration technology transforms end-of-life textiles into new materials, effectively reducing waste and emissions in the production cycle," Losada adds.

As part of this partnership, Zara Athleticz, a sub-brand of sportswear for men, is launching its first capsule collection of technical garments with up to 50% cycora content in collaboration with Ambercycle.

Shay Sethi, CEO of Ambercycle adds: "Ambercycle’s goal is to enable circularity by replacing virgin polyester with textile-to-textile regenerated cycora. Our partnership with Inditex represents a monumental leap towards realising circularity at scale in the fashion industry."

This collaboration forms a key component of Inditex's Sustainability Innovation Hub, an innovation platform that collaborates with startups, academic institutions, and technology centres to promote and expand new materials, technologies, and processes aimed at diminishing the environmental footprint of fashion products.

The Ambercycle deal is the latest in a series of investments made by Inditex into textile recycling start-ups.

In 2022, Inditex contributed to a $30m funding round to help circular fashion company, Circ, expand its poly-cotton recycler designed to recycle clothing and eliminate clothing waste.

In the same year, Inditex announced a three-year commitment to buy 30% of Infinited Fiber Company's annual future production volume of Infinna, a textile fibre that can be created from 100% textile waste in a deal valued at more than €100m.