cycora Regenerated Polyester

Ambercycle is a Los Angeles-based company founded in 2015 that describes itself as an ecosystem for circular textiles. It addresses the fact that most polyester clothing is made from fossil feedstock and ends up landfilled or incinerated, because blended and dyed garments are hard to recycle back into fiber-grade material.

Its molecular regeneration process shreds post-consumer and post-industrial textiles, feeds them into a series of reactors that separate mixed fibers, removes dyes and finishes to purify polyester at molecular level, and reconstitutes the regenerated PET into virgin-grade pellets. These pellets, sold as cycora regenerated polyester, drop into partners' existing yarn and fiber supply chains. Buyers include apparel brands, fiber makers and automotive and electronics manufacturers, with partners such as Inditex, H&M Group, Zalando, REI Co-op and the Chinese fiber maker BHF.

• Textile preprocessing: post-consumer and post-industrial textiles are shredded and fed into reactors.
• Fiber separation: mixed fibers are separated back into the base materials found in clothing.
• Molecular purification: dyes and finishes are removed to purify polyester at molecular level.
• Virgin-grade pellets: purified regenerated PET is reconstituted into pellets with virgin-like performance.
• Drop-in integration: pellets enter partners' existing global yarn and fiber supply chains.
• Multi-sector use: cycora targets apparel, automotive and electronics applications.

Vietnamese polyester yarn spinners could buy cycora pellets or fiber to supply brands such as Inditex or H&M with textile-to-textile yarn. Garment exporters could join brand take-back loops by routing polyester cutting waste into regeneration programmes. Automotive textile suppliers could offer seat and interior fabrics with regenerated content.

Ambercycle states that cycora offsets close to half the CO2 emissions associated with virgin polyester production while offering the same strength and versatility as virgin polyester. The pellets fit existing spinning and fiber equipment, so mills need no new machinery. Using end-of-life textiles as feedstock helps brands meet recycled-content and textile-to-textile targets beyond bottle-based recycled polyester.

Fashion brands are shifting from bottle-derived recycled polyester to textile-to-textile polyester under EU circularity rules and their own targets. Asian fiber and yarn makers are the main route for such material to reach garments, and Vietnam's yarn, fabric and garment exporters face growing buyer demands for verified recycled content.

Founded in 2015 and based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023 Inditex signed a three-year agreement to buy cycora for over EUR 70 million. October 2025: three-year agreement with REI Co-op; Ambercycle also expanded its team in Spain. February 2026: deeper partnership with Chinese specialty polyester maker BHF. Temasek appears among partner logos on the website.