Decathlon, a sportswear company, has collaborated on a new fabric with the Lycra Company and Karl Mayer Group as part of its initiatives to advance circularity in the fashion sector.
Decathlon has created swimwear with elastic features that are flexible and can be recycled back into yarns for new clothing through the phases of collection, shredding, melting, pellet manufacture, and spinning in an effort to shut the loop.
With the ‘Aqua Vision’ project, the three organisations claimed they were reevaluating the recycling problem. The goal of the project is to create durable sportswear that can be circulated within the clothing industry and can be reused repeatedly.
The filament with a high polyurethane content gives a good fit but causes issues in the recycling process, they stated, therefore the task was to produce swimwear without using elastane.
The LYCRA Company offered the LYCRA T400 EcoMade fibre for this swimsuit in place of elastane, which was used in conjunction with a clever structure to achieve the required stretch. This LYCRA stretch solution is made up of 68% sustainable materials, 50 per cent of which are recycled plastics and 18 per cent are bio-based materials.
According to The LYCRA Company, there are two parts to the LYCRA T400 EcoMade fibre, and each shrinks under heat differently during finishing. This differential shrinkage produces a long-lasting fit because of its robust suppleness. Additionally, this yarn outlasts traditional alternatives in durability by more than 500 hours against chlorine.
Arnaud Ruffin, vice president at the LYCRA Company for brands and retail, said, “At The LYCRA Company, sustainable innovation is at the heart of our vision, and we are proud to partner with Decathlon and Karl Mayer to produce a sustainably sourced, chlorine and wear-durable swimsuit with no performance compromises which can be practically recycled at end of life.”
