Hyosung TNC Collaborates With Ambercycle To Introduce Circular Polyester In South Korea
Hyosung TNC, a global leader in sustainable textile solutions, has teamed up with Ambercycle, a prominent material science company, to pioneer the integration of textile-to-textile circular polyester into South Korea’s supply chains.
This partnership underscores both companies’ commitment to fostering a circular textile ecosystem by repurposing end-of-life products into high-performance fibers, aligning with brands’ efforts to reduce environmental impact.
Leveraging Hyosung’s 58 years of expertise in advanced fiber manufacturing and nearly two decades of producing sustainable textiles, the collaboration aims to seamlessly integrate Ambercycle’s circular polyester material, cycora®, into brand supply chains.
Chi Hyung Kim, CEO of Hyosung TNC, remarked, “Our collaboration with Ambercycle marks a significant stride towards helping our customers achieve their sustainability objectives and implementing solutions that benefit present and future generations. We are impressed by cycora® not only for its quality but also for its potential to divert significant textile waste from landfills and incinerators, reducing the reliance on raw materials used in virgin polyester production.”
Ambercycle, headquartered in Los Angeles, is rapidly scaling up cycora®, a regenerated polyester chip meeting spinnability standards equivalent to virgin materials and surpassing other recycled materials in performance, as confirmed by testing conducted by the European Center for Innovative Textiles (CETI), a renowned research institute.
The groundbreaking molecular regeneration technology employed by Ambercycle adds to Hyosung TNC’s expanding portfolio of circular solutions, which includes regen™, a premier recycled fiber brand.
Developed at its research and development center, Hyosung achieved several milestones in sustainability, being the first to develop regen™ nylon from discarded fishing nets in 2007. It subsequently obtained Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certification for its recycled regen™ polyester, introduced RCS-certified 100% recycled regen™ spandex in 2020, and launched USDA, SGS-certified bio-based spandex made from renewable resources in 2021.
Shay Sethi, CEO of Ambercycle, expressed, “The fashion industry increasingly seeks accessible, high-quality circular solutions, and this partnership addresses that demand by scaling up cycora® production. We share Hyosung’s high-quality standards and commitment to circularity, making them an ideal partner in our commercialization journey.”
