Australian textile recycler Samsara Eco may just be the key to Lululemon’s goal of hitting 100% preferred materials by 2030.
The recycling firm was founded in 2021 by Paul Riley in partnership with the Australian National University (ANU), and is focused on developing and commercialising a technology for infinite plastic recycling using enzymes.
Two years after launch, Lululemon stumbled upon the start-up and quickly jumped in to help. This led the pair to debut the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product, a common material in textiles. Roughly 4 million tonnes of nylon 6,6 is created per year.
Lululemon created samples of its Swiftly Tech Long-Sleeve Top using recycled nylon 6,6 from Samsara Eco, representing the first time this type of nylon has been recycled in this way.
Around this time, Lululemon’s preferred fibres contribution was at 47 per cent compared to total fibre use, up from a base of 27 per cent in 2020. This is based on its 2023 Impact Report, the latest update on this space.
The focus on preferred materials is part of its overall goal to reduce carbon emissions, alongside supplier carbon-reduction activities, and a decrease in in-bound air freight.
“In addition, because production and related emissions may occur months before products are sold, emissions intensity is sensitive to production and inventory level fluctuations,” the company shared in the impact report. “In 2023, lower production volumes contributed to the reduction in emissions intensity. In future years, we expect production volumes to increase with growth and are continuing the work to progress toward our Scope 3 target.”
To count toward its goal of 100% preferred materials, Lululemon noted that products must contain at least 25 per cent preferred materials by weight, with transparently communicated attributes defining preferred materials.
“Thirty-eight percent of our products were procured with more than 50 percent preferred materials, up from 29 percent in 2022, and 9 percent were procured with between 25-50 percent preferred materials.”
More than a year after connecting with Samsara, and further collaborations between the two, Lululemon signed a 10-year contract that has the potential to see materials from the recycler supporting approximately 20 per cent of the activewear brand’s overall fibres portfolio.
This came after Samsara’s announcement in April that it is partnering with global science and technology firm KBR to design a new international plant that will be capable of processing 20,000 metric tonnes of nylon 6,6.
But while Lululemon edges closer towards its materials goal, Samsara is edging towards its own goal of establishing a new working model. And not just for the fashion industry.
Samsara Eco chief commercial officer Sarah Cook says deals like the one with Lululemon can help pull demand through the supply chain.
“It’s also really important to acknowledge that the current textile supply chain is quite linear,” Cook adds. “You get your raw materials, you make it into yarn and then fabric and garment, and then the consumer wears it.
“Last I checked, something like 10 per cent of plastics globally are recycled. So there's a large proportion goes to landfill.”
But in order to achieve its goal, Samsara needs to hit two targets. First, it needs to create a recycled product that can fit and perform functionally within clothes the same way virgin equivalents do. From that, it needs to help recalibrate the linear model of global supply chains.
As Cook says, Samsara can scale its new recycling plant, but the plant requires feedstock.
“This is a whole ecosystem change,” she says. It's taking a straight line, flipping on its head and rounding it. So this really needs collaboration at a brand level to drive that, but also at every step of the ecosystem.”
Cook adds that Lululemon isn’t the only business tapping into Samsara, with the recycler chatting and working with other global players – both inside and outside fashion.
For fashion in particular, Cook says Samsara’s solution is able to navigate the challenge that most garments are made with multiple materials. They’re also generally dyed, adding to the difficulty.
“You can't use traditional recycling methods, like we do with plastic bottles for instance, and this is why our offering is really appealing to brands. When we take the garments back to their original raw materials, it can go back into the supply chain.
“We demonstrated it with the Lululemon top last year, recycling nylon 6,6. That material started life as a pair of black Lululemon leggings. There was a blend of nylon 6,6 and elastane, and we were able to help morph it into a peach nylon 6,6 top.”