In a significant breakthrough for the textile industry’s recyclability efforts, BASF and Inditex jointly announced the launch of loopamid®, a polyamide 6 (PA6 or nylon 6) made entirely from textile waste. This innovative solution marks the first circular nylon apparel, providing a sustainable alternative to conventional manufacturing methods.
Zara, one of Inditex’s brands, introduced a jacket made exclusively from loopamid, composed of 100% textile waste from garments. Collaborating with leading manufacturing companies, Zara has adopted a “design for recycling” approach, ensuring that all elements, including fabrics, buttons, filling, hook and loop, and zipper, are made from loopamid.
Loopamid’s groundbreaking technology enables the recycling of polyamide 6 discarded textiles into new, virgin-quality synthetic fibers and materials. Its unique capability to tolerate various fabric mixtures, including PA6 and elastane, allows for efficient textile-to-textile recycling of both post-industrial and post-consumer textile waste. The resulting fibers and materials can be recycled over multiple cycles while maintaining characteristics identical to conventional virgin polyamide.
“BASF has reached an important milestone towards circularity in the fashion industry and pioneered an approach to close the loop for nylon textiles,” said Dr. Ramkumar Dhruva, President of BASF’s Monomers division. “Our loopamid has the potential to revolutionize the PA6 market for the better. We are in the process of scaling up our technology to serve our customers with commercial quantities. The capsule jacket together with Inditex is proof that circularity is possible, and we are eager to further drive the sustainable transformation of the textile industry.”
Inditex has collaborated with leading groups in the clothing manufacturing industry to seamlessly integrate loopamid into various garment components, including fabrics, zippers, buttons, fillings, hook and loop fasteners, and sewing threads. The collaboration involves ModaRe, a take-back program operated by the charity organization Caritas, RadiciGroup, YKK, Velcro Companies, Uniter, Tessitura Vignetta, Freudenberg, and Gütermann.
Javier Losada, Inditex’s Chief Sustainability Officer, highlights the collaborative effort to transform textile waste into a new resource, stating, “Driving innovation is key to advancing towards a more responsible industry. This collaboration is a great example of how, by collaborating all together, we can use the new technology to transform textile waste into a new resource. This project is also a first step to move towards a circular solution, as the industry still needs to boost new collecting and recycling capacities to close the loop and scale recycling for post-consumer waste.”
Both BASF and Inditex are committed to ambitious sustainability goals. By 2030, BASF aims to double its sales generated with circular economy solutions to €17 billion. Inditex aims to have 100% of its textile products made exclusively from materials with a smaller environmental footprint by 2030.
Polyamide 6, commonly known as nylon 6, is widely used in various applications due to its excellent mechanical properties and versatility. BASF, a leading manufacturer of polyamide 6, has production sites in Europe, Asia, and North America.
Inditex comprises seven brands: Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, and Zara Home, selling in 213 markets through online platforms and over 5,800 stores.
