Breathing New Life Into Nylon

"When I see a landfill, I see a gold mine."

What if the next big thing in textiles has already been thrown away?

Giulio Bonazzi sees discarded items as a source of opportunity. In fact, he’s made it his business to create value out of synthetic nylon waste.

Giulio is the CEO of synthetic fibres manufacturing company Aquafil. At their factory in Slovenia, they make ECONYL, a material that's identical to traditional nylon except for one thing: it's created entirely from waste. Whether fishing nets, carpets, or clothing, old nylon fibres can be recycled and reused to create new products.

Every year the textile industry generates more than 100 million tonnes of fibre. Over 60% of this material is synthetic, with nylon as a crucial component in activewear, waterproof garments, upholstery, and much more. But as Giulio points out, traditional nylon often ends up in the bin after use.

ECONYL addresses this waste problem directly. It's also produced with 70-90% fewer emissions than its non-recycled counterpart.

After rescuing and sorting waste, grinding it and separating out component parts, the chemical process creates a pure monomer, allowing ECONYL to be made in the exact same way as virgin nylon. Using this process, nylon can be recycled indefinitely. The challenge that remains is helping customers design their products with circularity in mind.

Aquafil are proving that we don’t need to extract materials from the earth every time we create something new. As Giulio says, "you just have to take them once".

Our planet has given us so much. By treating its resources with the utmost care, we can begin to give back.

To learn more about Aquafil and ECONYL, visit their websites.