Swedish textile recycler to partner with Gap, Target

Stockholm — H&M-backed textile recycling firm Syre will provide recycled polyester to US retailers Gap and Target, it said on Tuesday, as demand for sustainable fashion grows.

Several start-ups are developing technologies to recycle discarded clothes into new textiles amid increasing consumer demand, and with retailers keen to burnish their sustainability credentials and meet tougher regulations.

Syre, which was cofounded by fast-fashion retailer H&M and investment group Vargas, plans to produce more than 3-million tonnes of polyester in 2032 by recycling used garments. It entered a long-term agreement with H&M last year worth a $600m over seven years.

Gap wanted to use 10,000 tonnes a year of its polyester chip, while Target would incorporate recycled polyester into a “selection” of the company’s products, Syre said in a statement.

“We will co-develop circular polyester together and it will lead to a commercial agreement over time,” Syre CEO Dennis Nobelius said. He did not disclose the potential monetary value of any agreement or a time frame.

Syre produces a polyester chip which then needs to be spun into a thread by its partner companies.

“This partnership enables us to accelerate our progress towards realising a more circular fashion industry,” Gap vice-president of global sustainability Dan Fibiger said in the joint statement.

Last year, Syre raised $100m in a funding round to build a “blueprint” factory in the US state of North Carolina and prepare for two more plants, including one in Vietnam.

The US factory is expected to have a capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes of recycled polyester annually and become operational during 2026, while Syre aims to start construction on the Vietnam plant in 2027 to produce 150,000-250,000 tonnes of polyester, Nobelius said.

Sweden-based sportswear company Houdini has also committed to source 50% of its polyester from Syre for a three-year period, Syre said.

Reuters