Athletic apparel giant Lululemon has joined a powerhouse coalition of investors to back Paris based deeptech startup Syntetica, contributing to a $30 million Series A funding round. The investment marks a significant step forward in the global fashion industry’s scramble to solve one of its most persistent environmental hurdles: the circular recycling of mixed nylon textiles.
The funding round was led by the Ecotechnologies 2 fund, which is managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance. Alongside Lululemon, the round drew notable strategic backing from MAS Holdings one of the world’s largest apparel manufacturers as well as SWEN Capital Partners, existing investor EQT Ventures, and the family offices of Peugeot, Etam, and Indorama Ventures’ largest shareholder.
Nylon is highly prized in the apparel industry especially by activewear brands like Lululemon for its durability, elasticity, and sweat wicking properties. However, nylon textile waste has historically been considered nearly impossible to recycle cleanly. Most performance garments are made from mixed synthetic fibers, and separating Nylon 6 (commonly used in fast fashion) and Nylon 6,6 (a highly heat-resistant fiber used in technical apparel and airbags) from other materials has been a technical bottleneck.
Syntetica, founded in 2023 by Marco Bertone and Chief Technology Officer Louis Monsigny, has developed a proprietary, low temperature chemical process that can recycle both Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 directly from mixed textile waste in a single process without requiring pre-sorting.
Marco Bertone, Co-founder and CEO of Syntetica, addressed the breakthrough during the announcement:
“For decades, mixed nylon waste has been considered too complex and too expensive to recycle at scale. We have shown that it is possible to recover high value materials from the waste streams the industry has historically written off. This funding allows us to move from breakthrough chemistry to industrial reality and accelerate the transition to more circular materials.”
While the investment was announced recently, Lululemon and Syntetica have been collaborating behind closed doors for some time. Bertone revealed that the Canadian activewear brand spent roughly two years working confidentially with the startup to test and refine the technology before committing capital.
Commenting on Lululemon’s active role in sustainable development, Bertone stated: “Lululemon is a pioneer and leader in transforming this industry to a circular economy, and they’re leading by investment, really taking bets on their future supply chain.”
The partnership is part of a broader, aggressive push by Lululemon to meet its goal of sourcing 100% of its products from preferred, sustainable materials by 2030.
The newly raised capital will primarily fund the construction of Syntetica’s first commercial demonstration facility in France. Developed in partnership with Michelin’s Centre for Sustainable Materials in Clermont-Ferrand, the site is expected to be operational within 18 months and will scale the chemical process to handle hundreds of tons of textile waste annually.
Industry partners are eager to see the technology scale up. Sid Amalean, Director of Group Innovation at MAS Holdings, emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between laboratory science and mass production:
“Recycling technology succeeds when brand commitment, manufacturing partnership, and industrial scale-up expertise all converge and Syntetica is one of the few ventures in this space that has brought all of these together. We’re excited to support Syntetica to scale their technology by leveraging MAS’ apparel manufacturing expertise. We see this investment as a strategic move for the industry as a whole.”
Alexandre Wagner, Investment Director at Bpifrance Green Venture, echoed this enthusiasm:
“Syntetica has developed a differentiated technology that addresses one of the textile industry’s most complex recycling challenges. We are pleased to support the company’s next phase of growth as it scales its technology and manufacturing capabilities in France, which is in line with our investment strategy.”
As global environmental regulations tighten and consumer demand for sustainable apparel grows, the success of Syntetica’s demonstration plant could signal a major shift toward a fully circular economy for high-performance apparel.
