Lululemon joins Bpifrance-led $30 million Series A for Syntetica
The investment round, led by France’s public investment bank, includes backing from MAS Holdings and EQT Ventures, signalling growing institutional appetite for scalable textile recycling solutions.
Activewear company Lululemon has invested in the $30 million Series A funding round raised by Syntetica, a French startup developing a novel approach to recycling Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6. The round was led by the Ecotechnologies 2 fund, managed by the Green Venture team at Bpifrance, France’s public investment bank, as part of the France 2030 plan. Participation also came from MAS Holdings, EQT Ventures, SWEN Capital Partners, and various family offices.
Syntetica’s technology addresses a specific challenge in textile waste: the difficulty of sorting Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 from each other. The startup produces recycled nylon pellets for the supply chain, which are supplied to manufacturers such as MAS Holdings to be made into yarn. This model avoids producing textile itself, focusing instead on providing raw materials to existing industrial partners.
The investment arrives as the fashion industry faces pressure to increase circularity, driven by customer perception and regulatory tailwinds. CEO Marco Bertone noted that recent geopolitical turmoil in the oil industry has caused significant price volatility for petrol-sourced synthetics, serving as a wake-up call for brands reliant on conventional supply chains. Syntetica’s approach is described as pragmatic, aiming to be cost-competitive and scalable without a "green premium."
Syntetica has already secured partnerships with major brands including Lululemon, Victoria’s Secret, and Etam. A recycling project involving these partners is expected to go to market early next year. Prior to the Series A, the company partnered with Michelin’s Centre for Sustainable Materials to establish a commercial demonstration facility in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
The founding team includes Bertone, chemistry researcher Louis Monsigny, and CTO Ash Ward, formerly of Northvolt. The company is also backed by the European Innovation Council through equity, grants, and its acceleration program. While competitors such as BASF and enzymatic startups exist, Syntetica plans to use the new funding to demonstrate the ability to produce hundreds of tons of pellets per year before expanding facilities globally.
