Nike is doubling down on its commitment to recycled materials, signing multi-year off take agreements with textile-to-textile recycling startups Syre and Loop Industries this week.
The companies did not disclose the terms of either deal, but such long-term purchasing commitments from brands have become a critical element in efforts to secure the financing needed to scale emerging recycling technologies. Many large fashion brands have made ambitious commitments to incorporate recycled textiles into their products, but that depends on dramatically increasing production capacity in the coming years.
Adopting more recycled materials forms part of Nike’s ambitions to curb its environmental impact. The company described developing closed-loop recycling that turns old clothes back into usable materials as its “highest aspiration” in its 2023 sustainability report, the last one it published before shifting to a more data-focused reporting approach.
“Innovation is at the heart of Nike’s DNA and textile-to-textile recycled polyester is essential in our ambition to design and produce breakthrough products that both perform to the highest standards that our athletes expect and are more sustainable at the same time,” Nike’s materials supply chain vice president Sitora Muzafarova said in a statement.
On Monday Syre, a Sweden-based startup backed by H&M Group and Vargas, announced that it will become Nike’s lead strategic supplier for textile-to-textile recycled polyester. The deal is set to help Syre secure financing for its first commercial-scale recycling facility in Vietnam. The plant is expected to begin construction in 2027, one of several the company is planning to build as it aims to hit production capacity of more than 3 million metric tonnes by 2032.
Earlier this year, Gap and Target also announced launch partnerships with Syre for use of its recycled fibre.
“The contract helps us secure more lending, because lenders can now see we have binding offtake and secured customers,” said Syre chief executive officer Dennis Nobelius. “We are entering a second chapter, having closed the Nike agreement.”
Syre’s material is expected to hit the market in the next few years, once its Vietnam facility is in operation, according to the company, with plans to be incorporated into select apparel lines at Nike.
Separately, Canadian recycler Loop Industries also announced a multi-year offtake with Nike for its patented Infinite Loop Twist resin, a chemically recycled polyester resin made by breaking down low-value textile waste into virgin-quality fibres, according to the company. The deal fortifies future demand for Loop’s product, as the company constructs its first commercial-scale facility in India.
“This really marks the start of the great textile shift… Having H&M and now Nike commit to textile-to-textile generated polyester is a clear breakthrough for the industry,” said Syre’s Nobelius.“It’s the moment that shows that circular materials can move from concept to commercial reality.”
Learn more:
Swedish Textile Recycler Syre to Partner With Gap, Target as Demand for Sustainable Clothing Grows
The H&M-backed textile recycling firm will supply the US retailers with recycled polyester.
