Aussie Company Samsara Eco Discovers Breakthrough Clothing ‘Infinite Recycling’ Innovation 👚

Samsara Eco Infinite Recycling 👚: Say goodbye to fast fashion as we now move on to what we like to call everlasting fashion! It’s no secret that most clothing is not recyclable and can take several hundred years to decompose, so the imminent need to find a solution to this massive environmental problem was extremely pressing. However, Aussie company Samsara Eco recently developed an innovative new process of recycling clothes, which they dubbed ‘infinite recycling’ in order to reduce the pollution created by the fashion industry. This cutting-edge technology not only makes clothing more sustainable but also creates job opportunities and aims to make life easier for all who wear it. Keep reading as we dive into how this revolutionary method works and what it could mean for sustainable fashion in Australia!

As we have mentioned in our past blogs such as sustainable fashion brands Australia and fast fashion, you would know by now that millions of tonnes of clothing making their way into landfills puts a strain on our environment. Here are just some of the alarming statistics we have discovered about fast fashion and the clothing industry as a whole:

Fast fashion and clothing statistics you should know

• For those unalarmed, did you know that since 2000, clothing production has roughly doubled?
• Another fast fashion waste statistic that might surprise you: Europe’s fashion companies had more than doubled their collections, going from two per year in 2000 to five in 2011.
• A whopping 85 per cent of textiles go into landfill each year. That’s enough to fill the Sydney harbour annually!
• Let’s mention one of the most famous and powerful countries in the world: the US. In the United States alone, 2.6 million tonnes of returned clothes ended up in landfill instead of being donated or recovered in 2020.
• Ever heard of microplastics? If you have, then you know of its detrimental effects on the environment. Did you know that nearly 10 per cent of microplastics found in the ocean each year come from textiles?

These are, obviously, a great cause of concern that needs to be addressed immediately. However, plenty have come up with their own solution to this ongoing problem. One of those is Samsara Eco, an Australian company dedicated to developing advanced technology that has the capabilities to help provide a more sustainable environment, which has a breakthrough discovery ‘infinite recycling’ that takes clothing recycling to the next level. We will cover more about this breakthrough discovery below.

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What you should know about Samsara Eco’s clothing infinite recycling

Samsara Eco recently made an uber-impressive breakthrough that will soon turn fast fashion into everlasting fashion.

As we all know by now, we still have a relatively difficult time recycling clothing and textile because of their complex composition of various materials that include plastics, fibres, cotton and more. For this reason, they end up in landfill.

Now, with Samsara Eco partnering up for multiple years with athletic apparel brand Lululemon, they now set their sights on ‘infinite recycling’ clothing by developing an enzyme that has the ability to break down two types of commonly-used nylon in textiles.

With this enzyme, we can now easily recover the original chemical building blocks and reuse them an infinite number of times without losing their original quality. What does this mean? Simply put, this means that Samsara Eco’s infinite recycling idea can definitely recycle old clothes into new ones infinitely!

Scientists at the Australian National University developed this nylon enzyme, which has partnered with Samsara to solve the long-standing problem of plastics. What makes this discovery a breakthrough is the fact that the enzyme has the potential to deal with nylon-6 and nylon-6,6 because all this time, there has been no way to deal with them. We could only, unfortunately, send these nylons to the rubbish and eventually, landfill.

More you should know about Samsara Eco’s infinite recycling

“Nylon, and other synthetic fibres like polyester, are polymers, in which many building blocks are joined through chemical linkages,” mentioned ANU Professor and Samsara chief science officer Colin Jackson.

“Our enzymes specifically break only these linkages, so there is no destruction of the building blocks, and these can be recovered to synthesise as-new fibres.”

What does Samsara plan for its infinite clothing recycling innovation? For starters, they intend to have a limited collection of new garments, made from old returned ones, on sale by mid-2024. As for bigger plans, they will likely have a recycling plant in North America in the next two years.

Samsara will simultaneously use the nylon enzyme with another that they developed earlier. It deals with polyethylene terephthalate or PET, a plastic widely used in packaging like water bottles and, of course, in clothing.

“We’ll use them in conjunction so we can take the polyester out, then the nylon out, and we’re left with a range of other plastics, like elastane,” Mr Riley said.

The company has yet to develop an enzyme for elastane for the patent stage. But, we can definitely expect it in their science program.

Samsara Eco’s infinite recycling centre

One good news after the other, we bring another one aside from Licella’s Cat-HTR technology innovation. Read more below.

As of 5 September 2023, Samsara Eco is about to open Australia’s first recycling research centre, where they aim to recycle a lot of plastic using enzymes. They want to recycle 1.5 million tonnes of plastic every year by 2030.

This facility will be located in Jerrabomberra, New South Wales, and will help Samsara improve its enzyme technology. They’re working with the Australian National University (ANU) to speed up their research for future use. Expect it to operate by the end of 2024.

Infinitely recycled clothing: now unveiled!

As of April 2024, the distribution of Samsara Eco and Lululemon’s first infinitely recycled fashion piece is now live!

The Packable Anorak jacket showcases a  “milestone” in textile-to-textile recycling with polyester produced through a combination of bioprocessing technologies.

This special anorak jacket is made using some pretty cool technology. It’s got enzyme-based recycling from Samsara Eco and captures carbon emissions thanks to LanzaTech’s new process.

They say it feels and performs just like Lululemon’s light and quick-drying fabric, which is pretty impressive.

And what’s even cooler is what goes into making it. They use all sorts of stuff like mixed plastic waste, old Lululemon clothes that have reached the end of their life, and even converted carbon emissions.

So not only does it look good and feel great, but it’s also helping the environment by giving new life to old materials and reducing carbon emissions.

Waster’s final thoughts

Samsara Eco’s discovery of a new enzyme that can infinitely recycle clothes is a massive step towards more sustainable fashion. It has the potential to significantly reduce the waste generated from discarded clothing. With this new innovative recycling technology, fashion companies could start creating pieces of clothing with infinitely recyclable materials.

In addition to reduced waste, this could also lead to increased environmental consciousness among fashion labels. Furthermore, the possibility of an infinite cycle in fashion would create more social and environmental equity for consumers, businesses, and producers of textiles alike.

The implications are far-reaching and have taken us one step closer to making sustainability accessible for everyone in the fashion industry. What are your thoughts about Samsara Eco’s infinite recycling discovery?

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