“We’re focusing on creating and testing a successful fabric for both nylon and polyester beginning this year to inform future scaling and product plans,” Yogendra Dandapure, vice president of raw materials innovation at Lululemon, told WWD. “We are working towards previewing our first prototypes later this year and will start to unveil small collections in the next one to two years.
Today, nylon makes up 37 percent of Lululemon’s materials mix, followed by polyester and cotton . Investments as in Samsara Eco are attempts to weather new unknowns. In Lululemon’s 2022 annual report, the brand noted the rising costs of raw materials including petroleum-based products, cotton and silver while also acknowledging the reality that climate change can exacerbate existing sourcing strains.
“Samsara” aptly means rebirth or flowing around in Sanskrit, representing the infinite aims for circular fashion, per Samsara Eco’s chief executive officer and founder Paul Riley. Paying homage to that principle, Samsara Eco’s patented enzyme technology breaks down plastic to its core molecules in a matter of minutes, over and over, according to the company.
Woolworths Group has already committed to turning the first batch of recycled Samsara plastic into branded packaging. In its path to scaling up, Samsara Eco’s Australian recycling facility looks to recycle 20,000 metric tons of plastic each year starting in 2024, once uptake and capacity allow. Riley said partnering with Lululemon has been a “significant milestone that will accelerate the journey to closing the loop on textile recycling.”