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BASF and , a Spanish clothing manufacturer, announced the launch of Loopamid polyamide 6 (PA6), a circular material for nylon apparel made from textile waste. Inditex has turned the material into a jacket marketed under its Zara brand. Following a “design for recycling” approach, all parts (including fabrics, buttons, filling, hook and loop, and zipper) are made from Loopamid.

Due to its capability to tolerate fabric mixtures like PA6 and elastane, the technology behind Loopamid enables textile-to-textile recycling of postindustrial and postconsumer textile waste. According to BASF, the material characteristics are identical to those of conventional virgin polyamide.

“BASF has reached an important milestone toward circularity in the fashion industry and pioneered an approach to close the loop for nylon textiles,” says 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 the proof that circularity is possible, and we are eager to further drive the sustainable transformation of the textile industry.” 

Javier Losada, Inditex’s chief sustainability officer, adds, “Driving innovation is key to advancing toward 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 toward a circular solution, as the industry still needs to boost new collecting and recycling capacities in order to close the loop and scale recycling for postconsumer waste.”

BASF is aiming to double its sales generated from circular economy solutions to 17 billion euros by 2030.