Outdoor apparel company Patagonia has signed a multi-year sales agreement for Infinna fibre, which is regenerated from textile waste by Infinited Fiber Company.

The two companies say the move marks a major milestone towards making textile circularity an everyday reality. The deal guarantees Patagonia access to the limited-supply fibre over the coming years and secures future sales income for Infinited as it ramps up production.

“Circularity is a marathon, not a sprint,” says Patagonia’s lead material developer Ciara Cates. “By partnering with companies like Infinited we are able to build a circularity partnership that not only recycles the products of the past but builds a circularity plan for the products of the future.”

“Patagonia is an industry pioneer in sustainable clothing and practices,” adds Infinited director Kirsi Terho. “Its environmental standards and requirements for sustainability are top of the league and we are humbled by the stamp of approval for Infinna as the circular alternative to virgin cotton and proud of the long-term commitment they have now made to using it in future collections.”

Infinna is a virgin-quality regenerated textile fibre with the soft and natural look and feel of cotton. It is created from cotton-rich textile waste that is broken down at the molecular level and reborn as new fibres. Because it’s made of cellulose – the building block of all plants – Infinna is biodegradable and contains no microplastics. Clothes made with it can be recycled again in the same process together with other textile waste.

“The beauty of Infinna is that the consumer would never guess it is made from recycled garments,” says Cates. “They will get to experience the same longevity, comfort and softness as a similar product made of virgin materials.”

In April, Infinited announced plans to build a flagship factory in Finland to meet the growing demand for Infinna from global fashion brands. It is currently supplying customers from its R&D and pilot facilities in Espoo and Valkeakoski, Finland. The planned new factory will have an annual production capacity of 30,000 metric tons, which is enough fibre for roughly 100 million T-shirts made with 100% Infinna. The company expects to sell the new factory’s entire output for several years during 2021.

More than 92 million metric tons of textile waste is produced globally every year and most of this ends up in landfills or incinerators. At the same time, textile fibre demand is increasing, with Textile Exchange estimating the global textile fibre market will grow 30% to 146 million metric tons by 2030.

www.patagonia.com

www.infinitedfiber.com