Can Lululemon solve the sustainable Nylon problem?

Lululemon, credited with giving the world of fashion “Athleisure”, always boasts the quality of his products, especially his gaiters, who inspired women to wear them out of the gym. But when it comes to the company’s viability goals, these very gaiters have a problem. Most of them come from fossil fuel materials such as polyester and nylon.

In 2020, the company raised the daily impact provision by 2025, including the objective of using 75% of preferred materials (defined as materials that contribute to improving environmental and/or social impacts compared to conventional versions) and 2025 and reach 100% by 20%.

In the latest sustainability report in 2023, published in September 2024, it had achieved 57% preferred materials in its mix, including 61% of its polyester, which represents 33% of total fiber, which derives from recycled sources and 46% of its 46% of its cotton. However, Nylon, which makes up 31% of the fibers used by Lululemon, watches back. Only 6% of the nylon used by the brand comes from recycled sources and 0% comes from renewable sources, another category that the brand explores as preferred material.

Facing the lack of commercially sustainable low -effect nylon options, the brand invests in solutions. “Nylon is one of the main areas, because we don’t see much that the investment is not going to find options in nylon.

The brand is sharing with me exclusively that it is currently announcing an extensive collaboration with the Biotechnology company based in California Zymochem on the biological adipic acid scale, one of Nylon’s basic chemical elements, which are traditionally based on oil. We hope this could be a viable choice of renewable sources for the Nylon 66 that the brand uses in some of its most virtual products, such as the Geggings Align and Wunder Train.

Lululemon invested last year an unacceptable amount in Zymochem as part of a $ 21 million funding round, along with other investors, including Toyota Ventures. The next stage of the corporate relationship will allow Zymochem to use Lululemon’s existing supply chain, experiment with product development and create a course map for how it could be imported into series of products in the long run. There is currently no time frame for when this innovation may occur in stores, but Patty Stapp SVP, global raw materials in Lululemon told me that this is “part of the overall way to hit our goals”, referring to the goals of the impact agenda. Lululemon did not reveal the financial terms of the new partnership.

Harshal Chokhawala, co -founder and chief executive of Zymochem, told me in an interview: “Nylon and adipic acid is used in more than 3 million metric tonnes a year.

Andapure says that a more sustainable replacement for conventional nylon was difficult to find because it has more specialized uses in the world than materials such as polyester: “Nylon is smaller fiber and when it comes to polyester,

Chokhawala reports that a major diversification in Zymochem technology is the ability to escalate: “We have passed a decade to develop a fermentation -based biotechnology, but the only point of this technology is the ability to allow the competitiveness of cost -based costs.”

In terms of performance, Andapure says that replacing unilateral oil with Zymochem’s organic monomers creates a material with the same properties, so there is no compromise in quality.

While Nylon based on the resume will reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and will come from a renewable source, it is not biodegradable and Lululemon is trying to face the end of life for the material through existing partnership With Samsara Eco based in Australia.

In February 2024, the partnership announced the first enzyme recycled Nylon 66 product created by Nylon Lululemon products mixed with other non -materials to create high quality recycled nylon. In a press release, Lululemon said most recycled nylon came from post-industrial waste and final results that corresponded to Lululemon’s quality requirements were limited. The vision of the Apparel brand is to escalate its partnerships with Zymochem and Samsara Eco to create a closed loop process to create Nylon 66 products.

In 2023 Lululemon launched a pilot collection of Nylon 6 organic shirts with another biotechnology company, Geno. Stapp says there will be new developments from this partnership soon: “We are looking at their scale plans and work with them closely and our partners to understand how to get to our line over time,” he said.

While the Athleisure brand has no specific goals to end the dependence on fossil fuel -based materials, it is largely betting on the innovation based on the biological basis as a solution that offers a future of lower impact that does not endanger the experience of its customers.