Textile companies that have already made their mark in sustainable materials are coming together to advance their product offerings leading to greater industry circularity.
Celliant x Repreve
Materials science company Hologenix, creators of Celliant, and global textile solutions provider Unifi, maker of Repreve, announced a partnership to introduce Celliant with Repreve.
The blended Celliant with Repreve fiber has the infrared properties of science-backed Celliant’s infrared technology and the sustainable footprint of Repreve, one of the world’s top recycled fiber brands. Celliant is a blend of bioceramic minerals embedded into textiles to convert body heat into infrared energy, returning it to the body and temporarily increasing local circulation and cellular oxygenation. This aids significantly in muscle recovery and increases endurance and improves overall performance in healthy individuals.
Repreve recycled performance fiber consists of high-quality fibers made from 100 percent recycled materials, including post-consumer plastic bottles and pre-consumer waste. It is also certified and traceable with U Trust verification and FiberPrint technology to back up customers’ recycled claims. Compared to virgin fiber, Repreve helps to offset the use of petroleum, emitting fewer greenhouse gasses and conserving water and energy in the process.
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“We’re excited that the infrared component of Celliant with Repreve provides enhanced health and wellness benefits and that we are expanding the use of sustainable fiber options that positively impact our planet, both now and in the future,” Unifi CEO Eddie Ingle said.
Celliant and Repreve are both key ingredients in brands across many sectors, from apparel and sportswear to upholstery fabric. Celliant with Repreve’s official preferred North America knitting partner is Beverly Knits, one of the largest circular knitters in the United States, developing fabric for markets including intimate apparel, activewear, outdoor products, mattress and bedding, automotive, industrial and medical. The three-way partnership allows for the production of finished goods to take place within a 300-mile radius, from Celliant mineral processing to final product.
“It is a core part of our ethos to provide Made in USA products that support American manufacturing,” said Ron Sytz, CEO of Beverly Knits. “To further this aim while simultaneously creating products that are both better for the consumer and better for the earth is something we can all be proud of.”
Hologenix, headquartered in Pacific Palisades, Calif., noted that Celliant is rigorously tested by a Science Advisory Board composed of experts in photobiology, nanotechnology, sleep medicine, and diabetes and wound care. The Science Advisory Board has overseen nine peer-reviewed published studies that demonstrate Celliant’s effectiveness and the benefits of infrared energy.
Made by Unifi, Repreve has transformed more than 34 billion plastic bottles into recycled fiber. Beverly Knits operates over 300 circular knitting machines that produce 30 million square yards of fabric annually. The company’s manufacturing and warehousing facilities cover over 450,000 square feet in five buildings located in Gastonia, N.C., 55,000 square feet in Albemarle, N.C., and 50,000 square feet in Hemingway, S.C.
Pertex x Cycora
Meawhile, Pertex, a leading performance fabric brand, and Cycora, a breakthrough material made from regenerated end-of-life textiles, will collaborate to develop high-performance, woven fabrics from landfill-destined textile waste.
The Pertex-Cycora collaboration would be directly tackling the growing problem of textile waste, which sees over 70 percent of clothing either landfilled or incinerated at end-of-life. Cycora is the first solution developed by Ambercycle Inc., a Los Angeles-based materials science company whose mission is to end waste in the fashion industry.
The Ambercycle ecosystem enables the consolidation, regeneration and reintegration of end-of-life textiles back into supply chains, reducing the extraction of finite resources from the planet. Ambercycle technology powers this movement, regenerating textiles at a molecular level while matching the quality of what today comes from petroleum.
Fabric developer Pertex, known for its lightweight woven fabrics for tecbhnical performance apparel, will work in partnership with Cycora to produce high-performance woven fabrics. These fabrics will be intentionally designed to be compatible with Ambercycle end-of-life solutions to have minimal impact when being regenerated back into Cycora to start the cycle again.
“We are constantly striving for new ways in which to reduce our environmental impact,” said Steve Laycock, Pertex brand director. “This partnership with Ambercycle offers new opportunities to achieve these goals. For example, our Pertex Revolve fabrics are mono-material made entirely from recycled polyester. Currently, this polyester is from PET bottles, but the partnership with Ambercycle carves a pathway for a new truly circular fabric made through textile-to-textile regeneration.”
Pertex and Cycora will work closely to meet the demands of outdoor and sportswear brands to move toward truly sustainable practices.
“In the journey to develop a truly circular infrastructure in the fashion industry, we wanted to utilize Cycora materials in advanced, technical products, while setting a precedent for intentional design,” said Shay Sethi, Ambercycle CEO. “The partnership with Pertex allows for circular materials to thrive in the toughest of environments—climbing, hiking, backpacking. Pertex and Cycora are naturally aligned to accelerate the pursuit of material harmony.”