LanzaTech, a biotechnology company based in the United States, has collaborated with lululemon athletica, an athletic apparel company based in Vancouver, Canada, to develop the world’s first yarn and fabric made from recycled carbon emissions that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere as pollution.
Lululemon has teamed up with LanzaTech to create a solution to produce ethanol from waste carbon sources. The company is working with partners India Glycols Limited (IGL) and Taiwan’s Far Eastern New Century (FENC) to convert the ethanol to polyester. With a lower carbon footprint, this innovation could transform the apparel industry. In October 2020, lululesmon released its first Impact Agenda, outlining its multi-year strategies to address critical social and environmental issues.
LanzaTech’s process sources carbon from different types of feedstocks, from industrial emissions to syngas from gasified agricultural or household waste. LanzaTech’s first commercial scale gas fermentation plant has produced over 20 million gallons of ethanol which is the equivalent of keeping over 120,000 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. The finished garments not only have a lower carbon footprint but ensure community pollution levels are reduced.
