Athletic apparel company lululemon athletica and Australian environmental technology startup Samsara Eco announced a new 10-year offtake agreement, providing recycled raw materials including nylon and polyester for use in Lululemon’s products.
According to the companies, the new agreement could see Samsara Eco’s materials support approximately 20% of lululemon’s overall fibers portfolio.
Launched in 2021, Samsara Eco uses enzymatic technology to recycle plastic, using enzymes to turn complex plastics back into their original chemical building blocks, enabling their re-use to produce new virgin-grade plastics without relying on fossil fuels.
The agreement marks the latest in a series of collaborations between the companies. In 2023, lululemon launched a partnership with Samsara Eco as the recycling company’s first textile partner, working with the company to pioneer a new technology to extract nylon 6,6 from end-of-life textiles, and in February 2024, the companies announced the production of the first-ever product to be created using this form of circular solution for the difficult to recycle material. Later in 2024, the companies announced the launch of a new jacket, the first ever product to be produced using enzymatically recycled polyester.
Paul Riley, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Samsara Eco, said:
“Our expanded partnership with lululemon represents a strong step forward to help create a fully circular ecosystem and further highlights the industry’s commitment to transition to more circular materials. The technology to make circular materials is not a pipe dream – it is here, ready for adoption by forward-thinking companies. I’m incredibly optimistic about how we will help fuel circular apparel over the next decade with lululemon.”
Nylon 6,6 is one of the most commonly used plastics in the textile industry for the production of clothing, sportswear and outerwear fabrics, and accounts for a substantial portion of the materials used by lululemon, with benefits including durability and toughness, which also make it difficult to recycle. Polyester is Lululemon’s largest procured material by weight, at slightly over a third of the total materials used in its products, followed closely by Nylon.
Under the new agreement, Samsara Eco will supply lululemon with recycled nylon 6,6 and polyester.
The new agreement will support lululemon’s sustainable materials goals, which include targets to source 75% “preferred materials,” or those with improved environmental or social sustainability outcomes and impacts compared to conventional production, by 2025, and 100% by 2030. Earlier this year, lululemon announced a multi-year collaboration with biotechnology firm ZymoChem aimed at expanding the use of sustainable bio-based nylon in its products.
Ted Dagnese, Chief Supply Chain Officer at lululemon, said:
“As we work toward our 2030 impact goals, we’re taking a diversified approach—investing in multiple partnerships to advance solutions and help reduce our reliance on fossil-fuel derived resources. Together with our partners, including Samsara Eco, we’re helping to turn our vision of a circular model into a reality.”
