Lululemon goes green in nylon production

Lululemon started selling shirts made of plant-based nylon instead of fossil fuels according to an announcement on Tuesday.

The shirts are short sleeved and are made from at least 50 percent biologically sourced nylon, 40 percent recycled polyester, and three percent of elastane.

Lululemon has a partnership with other companies to produce materials in new and sustainable ways, to produce 100 percent of its products with sustainable materials by 2030.

Nylon is mostly made of ingredients made from fossil fuels such as coal, crude oil, and natural gas. Biotechnology company Geno technologies partnered with Lululemon to produce the shirts.

It uses biological organisms instead of chemical from the fossil fuels. “As with all of the products that are produced with Geno technologies, we utilise biotechnology to convert plant-based sugars into the products we target,” said Geno CEO and Founder Christophe Schilling.

“Plants take up CO2 from the air, and with sunlight providing energy, convert that into sugars, which can be collected and then fed into a Geno process.” he added.

According to the head of impact at Geno, the bio-nylon will reduce at least 50 percent of carbon emissions used in the production cycle of the shirts.