The materials science company Pangaia has launched its first denim product made entirely from cotton textile waste – marking a ‘pivotal moment’ in the brand’s journey with material innovation.

Called the Renu Jacket, the garment has been made from the textile innovator Evrnu’s NuCycl material and launched through Pangaia’s own innovation platform, the Pangaia Lab.

Pangaia’s partnership with Evrnu has been born through a mutual mission to find replacements for resource-intensive fibres such as cotton, and to harness the value of materials already in circulation – rather than rely upon virgin fossil-fuel or animal-derived fibres.

The Renu Jacket is the world’s first denim product to be made entirely from NuCycl.

Pangaia’s chief innovation officer, Dr Amanda Parkes, said: “Evrnu represents the very best of innovation in the space of recycled fibres. We have been on a long journey together as partners and we are delighted to be bringing out our first product together, demonstrating the extraordinary potential for superior quality from recycling technologies.”

Evrnu’s NuCycl was named on of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2022 for its process in breaking down and transforming pre and post-consumer textile waste into a pristine new, high-performance fibre for creating textile products. NuCycl can be recycled up to five time without loss in performance or quality.

Sustainable Brands reports that products made with NuCycl can be disassembled to the molecular level and regenerated multiple times into new clothing, home and industrial textiles. The tech uses repolymerisation to convert the original fibre molecules into new, high-performing, and renewable fibres. Unlike mechanically recycled cotton, NuCycl does not need to be blended with any virgin fibre and allows more recycling cycles – making it a less resource intensive alternative to cotton or polyester.

“We are thrilled to partner with Pangaia, which shares our drive to unlock the future of materials and technology for the fashion industry,” said Evrnu ceo and co-founder, Stacy Flynn. “Our mission is to help brands create clothing out of recycled materials that are not only of the highest quality but can also continue to be recycled.

“We are delighted by the growing market demand for NuCycl.”