Lululemon Athletica Inc. has launched what it describes as its first plant-based, sustainably derived nylon items in an effort to win over customers looking for more eco-friendly clothing.
The novel material, which the Vancouver-based company claimed was produced by ‘fermenting plant sugars into the chemical building blocks used to form nylon,’ was launched on 18th April.
The items are a result of their collaboration with Genomatica, Inc., a provider of sustainable materials, in which Lululemon has held stock since 2021.
Together, the businesses used fermentation and biotechnology to transform plant-based materials into the building blocks of nylon.
Petroleum made from coal, natural gas, or crude oil—fossil fuels known to exacerbate global warming—is commonly used to make nylon. Instead, the new shirts from Lululemon will be made using microorganisms with a biological basis.
The ‘Swiftly Tech Short Sleeve’ shirt for women and the ‘Nylon Metal Vent’ shirt for men are Lululemon’s first two plant-based nylon items.
“We’ve been working on plant-based nylon with our partner Geno for almost two years,” Esther Speck, Lululemon senior VP, global sustainable business and impact, said in a press release.
The price of the shirts, which is US $ 78 for men and US $ 68 for women, is comparable to the retail price of counterparts made of traditional fabrics. The short-sleeved shirts are composed of 3 per cent elastane, 40 per cent recycled polyester, and 50 per cent nylon from biological sources. 30 per cent of the elastane component is made from plants.
“Today marks a major achievement: Biotechnology has successfully fermented plant sugars into the chemical building blocks used to make nylon, bringing to life a renewable, plant-based nylon,” Geno founder Christophe Schilling said in a statement.
