Fashion giant Zara has launched a first capsule collection integrating fibres derived from polycotton textile waste that have been regenerated by Danville, Virginia-based Circ.

Together, the two companies have tackled one of the biggest challenges for the fashion industry – breaking down blends of polyester and cotton into new recycled raw materials to create new garments.

Circ’s recycling technology is said to be currently the only platform that can successfully separate polycotton blended textile waste and recover both the cellulosic and synthetic fibres.

The first collection comprises lyocell and polyester garments made with 50% and 43% of the recycled polycotton textile waste respectively. With creative direction from the design team at Zara Woman, it showcases on-trend and light garments in burgundy tones that are designed to be kept in circulation .

“We believe our partnership with Zara signals a shift in how the fashion industry and consumers view what is possible,” says Peter Majeranowski, CEO of Circ. “This is the first-time recycled polyester and lyocell clothing manufactured from polycotton textile waste is in the hands of consumers, and we are taking important steps towards making circularity the new standard. Circ and Zara want to create a new future in which the garments hanging in closets are made from recycled materials that can then be recycled over and over again.”

“This first-of-its-kind collection demonstrates that innovation in new fibres and collaboration with specialised experts are two key pillars in advancing the circularity of the textile industry,” adds Inditex chief sustainability officer Javier Losada. “Circ’s technology opens the door to effectively separate and recycle any blend of polyester and cotton – which is one of the most common textile blends in clothing. At Zara and Inditex, we want to lead the transformation of our industry by creating fashion collections rooted in circularity”

The partnership follows last year’s investment in Circ by Inditex, Zara’s parent company, aimed at accelerating industrial-scale solutions towards circularity. This is the first time Inditex has made an investment of this kind within its Sustainability Innovation Hub (SIH).

The new Zara collection is being made available across 11 markets.

www.circ.earth