Renewable Nylon is Becoming a Trend! What is Unique About it?

Nylon (PA) is the first synthetic fiber in the world. Nylon is polyamide, which we usually call nylon. Nylon is one of the important raw materials in the outdoorwear industry.

Advantages of nylon fabrics

Nylon is a synthetic fiber, so it has good mechanical strength and toughness. Its tensile and compression angles are even higher than those of metal. These characteristics determine that nylon fabrics have high practicality and will have a wide range of application scenarios. Because of these characteristics, nylon is often used to produce waterproof clothing, jackets and some clothing accessories.

Nylon is derived from non-renewable petroleum resources, is energy-intensive to manufacture and requires large amounts of water to cool the fibers. It has a high carbon footprint, sheds microplastic fibers during washing, many of which end up in landfills, and is generally not biodegradable at the end of its life cycle.

According to the data from the Sustainable Textiles Promotion Association, global polyamide production accounted for 5% of the total fiber market in 2020, which was 5.4 million tons. Among them, Maia Research's "2021 Recycled Polyamide Fiber Market Report" stated that only 1.9% of polyamide is currently recycled.

At present, new materials such as bio-based nylon and recycled nylon are gradually becoming substitutes for conventional nylon, effectively reducing carbon footprint.

Recycled and regenerated nylon

Recycled nylon can be recycled over and over again, saves petroleum, and requires less water and energy to manufacture than virgin fiber. Pre-consumer factory waste, carpets, post-consumer textiles, fishing nets, life buoys, and ocean plastics can all be used as sources of material, thereby reducing land and water pollution.

Bio-based nylon

Bio-based alternatives are emerging in the market, reducing the use of petroleum-based conventional nylon. According to Maia Research, bio-based polyamide yarn accounts for only a small portion of the polyamide market, about 0.4%.

What makes bio-based nylon unique: Using castor beans, corn, cassava, wheat or sugar as raw materials instead of petroleum can produce yarn with lower CO2 emissions.

Biodegradable Nylon

By making nylon more biodegradable, its lifespan would be significantly shortened, reducing landfill contamination associated with supply chain waste.

What’s unique about biodegradable polyamide: It speeds up the decomposition of clothing in anaerobic landfills from hundreds of years to just a few years.

Nowadays, more and more environmentally friendly bio-based and biodegradable special fibers are appearing on the market. According to data, these recycled nylons can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 50% and protect the ocean from microplastic pollution.

The recycled nylon also be widely used in outdoorwear such as ski jackets,waterproof jackets,insulated jackets.