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Mar 08, 2023

Zara uses recycling tech from start

A portfolio company of Nan Fung Group's sustainable fashion and technology

A portfolio company of Nan Fung Group's sustainable fashion and technology innovation platform The Mills Fabrica has launched a clothing collection with retail giant Zara that is made using recycled textile waste.

Nan Fung is a joint developer of Mount Nicholson on The Peak, one of the most expensive property projects in Hong Kong and Asia.

The clothing range relies on a technology from US-based circular-textile company Circ that recycles so-called polycotton materials - fabrics that blend cotton and polyester - into separated polyester and natural cellulose fibres that can be used in new clothes.

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The fashion industry produces 20 per cent of global wastewater and 10 per cent of global carbon emissions - more than the emissions of all international flights and maritime shipping combined, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Launched last month, Zara and Circ's women's collection features garments made of lyocell, a cellulose-based fabric, or polyester, both of which contain fibres recovered from polycotton waste using Circ's process. The recycled fibres make up from 43 to 50 per cent of the fabrics. One pair of lyocell pants cost US$69.90, according to Zara's website.

Circ's hydrothermal process can turn polyester-cotton blend fabrics (left) into cellulose (centre) and recycled polyester fibres (right). Photo: Handout alt=Circ's hydrothermal process can turn polyester-cotton blend fabrics (left) into cellulose (centre) and recycled polyester fibres (right). Photo: Handout>

"Our first collection was launched with Zara Woman because we wanted to showcase that sustainability must be fashion-forward, desirable and accessible to the broader public," said Peter Majeranowski, president and CEO of Circ. "With pricing similar to virgin [material] and with virgin-like material properties, the consumer should not have to choose."

The technology addresses the largest waste stream in textiles, as polycotton blends represent an estimated annual production of over 40 million tons, Majeranowski said.

Circ's technology opens the door to effectively separate and recycle any blend of polyester and cotton, said Javier Losada, chief sustainability officer at Inditex, Zara's parent company.

"This first-of-its-kind collection demonstrates that innovation in new fibres and collaboration with specialised experts are two key pillars in advancing the circularity of the textile industry," Losada said in a statement earlier this month. "At Zara and Inditex, we want to lead the transformation of our industry by creating fashion collections rooted in circularity."

Last year, Circ recycled more than 41 tonnes of materials using its technology, equivalent to saving around 66 tonnes of carbon-dioxide emissions, according to The Mills Fabrica's impact report launched earlier this month.

The Mills Fabrica has been supporting Circ since 2021 through investments, marketing exposure and connections to the textile and apparel industry, as part of a push to generate positive impact, according to the report.

Vanessa Cheung, group managing director of Nan Fung Group, speaks at the Sustainable Finance Initiative's Asian Family Impact Summit in Hong Kong on May 3, 2023. Photo: Edmond So alt=Vanessa Cheung, group managing director of Nan Fung Group, speaks at the Sustainable Finance Initiative's Asian Family Impact Summit in Hong Kong on May 3, 2023. Photo: Edmond So>

The ability to recycle more polycotton textile waste in the future means less pressure on the production of polyester and the cultivation of cotton, ultimately contributing to a reduction in use of land, chemicals and water, as well as an overall decrease in greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the report.

"Impact investment is definitely a very exciting space to be in right now," said Vanessa Cheung, group managing director of conglomerate Nan Fung Development, in an interview on the sidelines of the two-day Sustainable Finance Initiative's Asian Family Impact Summit on Wednesday.

Cheung is the founder of The Mills, a Tsuen Wan-based "revitalisation project" that combines incubation of start-ups involved in sustainable textile and agri-food technology with heritage conservation and experiential retailing. The Mills Fabrica is its innovation arm.

Given that the textile and apparel industry and the food and agriculture industry are responsible for around 44 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, "we see a lot of investible opportunities with great positive impact potentials across the value chain", Cheung said.

The concept of impact investing, a term coined two decades ago by US-based philanthropic organisation The Rockefeller Foundation, has gained popularity in recent years as investors have started to measure the effect their investments have on society and the planet, not just on corporate returns.

The impact-investing market is estimated at US$1.16 trillion in assets globally, overseen by 3,349 organisations, according to a 2022 estimate by the Global Impact Investing Network, which says the market has grown from 226 organisations managing US$228.1 billion in 2017.

"The size of ecological and social problems we face means that we would anticipate more technologies and solutions in this space," said Cheung, granddaughter of the late textile entrepreneur and philanthropist Chen Din-hwa.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.