Syre — a new venture developed by Vargas and H&M Group, both based in Sweden — was recently launched with the objective to decarbonize and dewaste the textile industry. Beginning with polyester, the venture will focus on textile-to-textile recycling, with the opportunity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 85 percent compared to emissions created when producing oil-based virgin polyester. Syre is supported by an offtake supply agreement with H&M worth some $600 million over seven years to fulfill H&M’s long-term need for recycled polyester in an increasingly competitive bottle-to-fiber marketplace. Syre’s first production facility for textile-to-textile circular polyester (cPET) recycling will be built in North Carolina and is expected to be operational in 2024.The company plans a rapid scale up with 12 gigascale plants in operation within 10 years generating more than 3 million metric tons of cPET. The platform also may be expanded into other fibers in the future.
“Syre marks the start of the great textile shift. We envision a world where every textile fiber sees a new day. By implementing true textile-to-textile recycling at hyperscale, we want to drive the transition from a linear to a circular value chain by putting textile waste to use, over and over again,” said Dennis Nobelius, Syre CEO.
“The new venture Syre is an important next step on H&M Group’s journey to integrate circularity across our business.With this solution to rapidly scale textile-to-textile recycling, we want to continue to drive and inspire more industry players to join us in closing the loop and accelerating the shift towards a more sustainable future,” said Daniel Ervér, H&M Group CEO.
March/April 2024
