Econyl

{{short description|Brand of recycled nylon yarn from waste material}}

Econyl regenerated nylon is a material and a brand introduced in 2011 by Aquafil.{{Cite magazine|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|date=December 2015|title=From Shredding to Recycling|url=https://archive.org/details/Entrepreneur_December_2015/page/n53/mode/2up|magazine=Entrepreneur|type=Cover story|location=Irvine, California|publisher=Entrepreneur Media, Inc.|volume=43|issue=12|pages=52–3|access-date=26 June 2020|via=Internet Archive}} It is made entirely from waste otherwise polluting the Earth, such as industrial discards, fabric scraps from clothing manufacturing companies,{{Cite book|last=Thomas|first=Dana|title=Fashionopolis|publisher=Penguin Random House (Penguin Press)|year=2019|isbn=9780735224018|location=New York|pages=200–2}} old carpets and fishing nets (mainly from the aquaculture industry). The material has been used by Stella McCartney (handbag linings, backpacks, outerware, etc.), Kelly Slater's label Outerknown, Adidas and Speedo swimwear, Levi's, Breitling (watch straps), and many other brands from the fashion and interior industries.{{Cite journal|vauthors=Sangode PB, Metre SG|date=April 2019|title=Green supply chain practices for environmental sustainability: A proposed framework for manufacturing firms|url=https://archive.org/details/28IJMPERDAPR201928/mode/2up|journal=International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering Research and Development|publisher=Trans Stellar|volume=9|issue=2|pages=294|quote=Adidas has also created Parley swimwear, using recycled fishing nets up-cycled into a technical yarn fiber named Econyl, which offers the same properties as the regular nylon used to make swimwear.|via=Internet Archive}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tA8TDgAAQBAJ|title=Sustainable Fibres and Textiles|vauthors=Karthik T, Rathinamoorthy R|publisher=Elsevier (Woodhead)|year=2017|isbn=978-0-08-102041-8|veditors=Muthu SS|series=The Textile Institute Book Series|pages=221|chapter=Sustainable synthetic fibre production|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tA8TDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA191|via=Google Books}}{{Cite web | last=Taylor | first=Meggen | date=May 26, 2021 | title= Three Sustainable One-Piece Swimsuits That Seamlessly Go From The Beach To The Streets | website=Forbes | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/meggentaylor/2021/05/26/three-sustainable-one-piece-swimsuits-that-seamlessly-go-from-the-beach-to-the-streets/}}

Aquafil began nylon recycling in the 1990s, but did not begin exploration of a comprehensive nylon reuse cycle until 2007, which ultimately led to the development of Econyl Regeneration System and the associated closed-loop process in 2011.

For every 10,000 tons of Econyl raw material, it is possible to save 70,000 barrels of crude oil .{{Cite web|date=2018-03-12|title=The Process|url=https://www.econyl.com/the-process/|access-date=2020-04-19|website=Econyl|language=en-US}} Further, the material can be continuously recycled without loss of quality.

Aquafil facilities for the collection and recycling of nylon materials include a carpet recycling plant in the United States (in Phoenix, Arizona). Recycling involves breaking down the nylon polymer into monomers, and then re-polymerizing the nylon them into brend-new nylon; the breakdown process is done with temperature, steam and catalysts, in a renewable energy-driven process.