French startup Syntetica raises $30m to recycle mixed nylon

French startup Syntetica has raised $30 million to deploy a chemical recycling process that simultaneously breaks down two grades of nylon previously considered too difficult to separate. The round was led by Bpifrance’s Ecotechnologies 2 fund, which contributed €26.1 million of the total.

Nylon is prized by apparel makers for its durability, but that same strength makes the material notoriously difficult to reprocess. The industry has long struggled to recycle Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 once they are mixed in textile waste. Syntetica’s founder described the company’s low-temperature chemistry as “like a sniper; it attacks the nylon and leaves everything else behind.”

This targeted approach allows the company to process both nylon grades at once while preserving other fibres like elastane in blended garments. The output is not finished fabric, but pellets that Syntetica claims match the quality of virgin, petrol-based nylon. These pellets can then be spun into yarn by manufacturers.

The funding arrives as the apparel sector grapples with the economic and environmental costs of textile waste. Recycled nylon accounts for just 2% of the global market, according to Textile Exchange, with the vast majority of discarded textiles incinerated or sent to landfill. Recent volatility in oil prices has driven up the cost of virgin nylon, a shift the founder described as “a wake-up call to many brands.”

Syntetica argues its process eliminates the traditional premium attached to sustainable materials. “If you want to scale real solutions for a sustainable world, it needs to be cost competitive, highly scalable, and you need to build partnerships from the very start,” the founder said.

Industrial scale

The company will use the capital to build its first commercial demonstration plant. Syntetica is constructing the facility alongside Michelin at the tyremaker’s Centre for Sustainable Materials in Clermont-Ferrand. Operations are expected to begin within 18 months, with an initial capacity of hundreds of tonnes per year.

The investor syndicate highlights a broader European effort to anchor materials science locally and cut reliance on fossil fuels. Alongside Bpifrance, the round drew capital from the European Innovation Council, Lululemon, apparel manufacturer MAS Holdings, EQT Ventures, SWEN Capital Partners, and family offices tied to Peugeot, Etam and Indorama Ventures. Lululemon, which has previously backed recyclers Samsara Eco and Epoch Biodesign, worked with Syntetica for roughly two years before investing.