Producer and marketer of recycled nylon fibres Aquafil has entered into a partnership with Outerknown, a new menswear apparel brand founded by 11 time world champion surfer Kelly Slater.
An Aquafil press release informed that Outerknown has introduced Aquafil’s Econyl, a sustainable nylon created from reclaimed fishing nets and other nylon waste materials into the new collection.
“Our partnership with Outerknown was born out of a shared vision and ambition for sustainable change,” said Giulio Bonazzi, CEO of Aquafil.
“Outerknown came to us with the goal of manufacturing nylon products that were not only made entirely of regenerated materials, but that would be endlessly regenerative without any loss in quality,” he added. “This goes beyond the typical use of recycled materials and puts Outerknown on the cutting edge of sustainable fashion,” Bonazzi observed.
“Because of my passion for ocean conservation, Econyl is the ideal partner for us,” Kelly Slater too informed.
“Not only are they re-writing the rule book for producing man-made fibres, but they are cleaning up the world’s oceans at the same time,” Slater noted.
Outerknown’s first collection launched on July 15, 2015 features the Evolution Series jackets and boardshorts made with Econyl regenerated nylon yarns.
According to Acquafil, Econyl offers the same quality and performance as traditionally manufactured nylon but with incredible environmental benefits. Econyl is made from reclaimed waste and can be recycled an infinite number of times without any loss in quality. Econyl helps divert global waste streams from landfills and oceans through the recovery of abandoned fishing nets and other discarded nylon waste materials.
The recovered nylon waste is processed through Aquafil’s Econyl Regeneration System and the resulting yarn is shipped to Outerknown’s global supply chain where it is converted into nylon textiles.
“The collaboration with Outerknown builds on Aquafil’s legacy and commitment to ocean and marine life preservation,” Aquafil informed. It further added that it continues to find new and resourceful ways to recover post-consumer nylon waste by engaging in various impactful global environmental programs.
Since 1969, Aquafil has been one of the leading players, both in Italy and globally, in the production of polyamide 6.
The Aquafil Group has a presence in eight countries on three continents, employing more than 2,400 staff at 15 plants located in Italy, Germany, Scotland, Slovenia, Croatia, the USA, Thailand and China.
Outerknown was born out of Slater’s personal mission to create a clothing brand that seamlessly blends function and style, while establishing sustainable manufacturing processes across its supply chain.
