French startup Syntetica raised $30M to recycle the nylon fashion throws away

A French startup has raised $30 million to tackle one of fashion’s hardest waste problems. Syntetica recycles nylon, and it can process two grades at once that the industry has long struggled to pull apart, its founder told TechCrunch.

The Ecotechnologies 2 fund, managed by France’s public bank Bpifrance, led the round, worth €26.1 million. Lululemon joined it. So did apparel manufacturer MAS Holdings, EQT Ventures, SWEN Capital Partners, and the family offices behind Peugeot, Etam and Indorama Ventures. The European Innovation Council added equity and grants.

What Syntetica does

Brands prize nylon for its strength. That strength also makes the material hard to reuse. Syntetica targets two grades, Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6. Recyclers cannot easily separate them once they mix in textile waste.

Its low-temperature chemistry recycles both at once. Bertone described the process to TechCrunch as “like a sniper; it attacks the nylon and leaves everything...

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