Nike has sealed multi-year deals with Syre and Loop to scale textile-to-textile recycled polyester, while Dr. Martens and Gen Phoenix extend their fourth season with the Solar Flare collection made from reclaimed leather.
Sportswear giant Nike is “doubling down” on recycled fibers as part of a broader push away from virgin polyester, and has entered into multi-year agreements with two circular-economy innovators, Syre and Loop Industries. Syre will serve as the lead strategic supplier of textile-to-textile recycled polyester for Nike, with an integration roadmap aimed at its core performance lines. Simultaneously, Loop will provide its “Twist” virgin-quality circular polyester resin, and Nike will serve as the anchor customer for a new India-based manufacturing facility dubbed “Infinite Loop,” which is projected to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by approximately 81 percent compared with fossil-fuel-based polyester and save up to 418,600 tonnes of CO₂ annually.
Nike has set ambitious emissions-reduction targets: a 65 percent cut in emissions from its operations and a 30 percent reduction across its supply chain by 2030 (on a 2015 baseline). It identified raw materials as accounting for 34 percent of its carbon footprint in 2024, underscoring why this shift matters.
Scaling textile-to-textile innovation
Syre — founded in 2024 by H&M Group and impact investor Vargas — is designed to enable mass production of textile-to-textile recycling at scale, beginning with polyester, which accounts for up to 40 percent of the textile sector’s emissions. “Having Nike, the global leader in sportswear and innovation, commit to textile-to-textile generated polyester sends a powerful signal to the entire industry,” Syre CEO Dennis Nobelius said in a statement. “This is not a one-off initiative or capsule collection, this is a moment when circular materials move from concept to commercial reality at scale and wider adoption.”
Sitora Muzafarova, Nike’s vice president of materials supply chain, added: “Our partnership with Syre represents a shift in our materials strategy and how we source. Innovation is at the heart of Nike’s DNA and textile-to-textile recycled polyester is essential in our ambition to design and produce breakthrough products that both perform to the highest standards that our athletes expect and are more sustainable at the same time.”
Loop Industries, based in Canada, uses technology to depolymerize waste PET plastic and polyester fiber — including bottles, packaging, garments, carpets, and textiles — turning them into virgin-quality resin. Under its deal, Nike will adopt Loop’s “Twist” circular resin. The Infinite Loop facility in India is expected to slash greenhouse gases by 81 percent compared with traditional polyester production while delivering up to 418,600 tonnes of annual CO₂ savings. Muzafarova commented on that partnership: “Our agreement with Loop Industries marks a pivotal step toward transforming textile waste into high-performance materials. This partnership exemplifies our commitment to scaling sustainable solutions that deliver both environmental impact and product excellence.”
Dr. Martens and Gen Phoenix extend their partnership
Meanwhile, the heritage footwear brand Dr. Martens has rolled out the fourth consecutive season of its collaboration with material innovator Gen Phoenix, introducing the Solar Flare collection made with Gen Phoenix’s reclaimed-leather material Genix Nappa.
The collection expands into new categories for the brand — its first bag crafted from the material, and for the first time kids’ footwear in the line. According to the release, the partnership has so far diverted fifteen tonnes of leather off-cuts from landfill and saved 693 tCO₂e compared with conventional leather — roughly equivalent to 1.7 million air miles or 300 round-trip flights from London to New York.
Gen Phoenix describes Genix Nappa as “luxcycling” — the recycling of waste leather fibers into premium materials without sacrificing style or performance — and notes that partnering with a brand like Dr. Martens proves that circular materials can be embedded into heritage design.
For its part, Dr. Martens has set targets under its sustainability strategy: to become net-zero by 2040, and to make 100 percent of its footwear from more sustainable materials by that date. The Solar Flare initiative not only demonstrates that ambition in material terms but extends the brand’s reach to younger wearers and accessories.
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