What is q-nova® (recycled nylon)?

What is Q-NOVA®?

Q-NOVA® is a textile fibre made from at least 50% recycled material, produced from nylon, also known as polyamide 6-6. It is a registered trademark of the Italian company Fulgor, which collects nylon offcuts directly at its production site in Italy and recycles them instead of throwing them away.

Q-NOVA® is considered an eco-friendly, hard-wearing material, and is used in particular by responsible lingerie and tights brands.

The brand Underprotextion uses Q-NOVA® for its lingerie collections.
© Underprotection

Nylon is a polluting synthetic chemical material, as it is derived from petroleum. Producing virgin nylon uses a great deal of energy and water. It causes air pollution, and also pollutes marine ecosystems, notably through the plastic microparticles that come off nylon clothes when they are machine washed. Recycled nylon in the form of Q-NOVA® is eco-friendly, because it limits the negative environmental impact of virgin nylon, and reduces our dependence on petroleum-based materials.

The manufacturing process of Q-NOVA® fibre is purely mechanical and requires no chemicals.
1 kg of Q-NOVA® saves 25 litres of oil and 159 litres of water compared with virgin nylon, or polyamide.*
Q-NOVA® saves up to 80% of CO2 emissions compared with virgin nylon, or polyamide.*
Q-NOVA® fibre is certified by several reliable sustainable fashion labels: Global Recycled Standard (GRS), the EU Ecolabel and Oeko Tex 100.

Nylon or polyamide 6-6 waste. This material is recycled to make Q-NOVA® fibre.© Fulgar — Nylon or polyamide 6-6 waste. This material is recycled to make Q-NOVA® fibre.
© Fulgar

With a zero-waste approach, Q-NOVA® recycled nylon is a good way to reduce the amount of discarded nylon, which either ends up incinerated or takes decades to break down. Inevitably, the amount of virgin nylon produced goes down too.

Our recycled clothing for women

Our recycled clothing for men

Q-NOVA, yes, but not without Guppy Friend

While Q-NOVA® fibre is a responsible alternative to virgin nylon, it still has one drawback. Even recycled, nylon contributes to microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems. When you machine wash a garment containing nylon, plastic microparticles can come off and end up in the oceans. According to Ademe, this invisible pollution is equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles thrown into the sea every year.

The solutions? Choose natural materials over synthetics whenever you can: organic cotton, tencel, linen... For sportswear, swimwear or lingerie, it can be hard to do without synthetic materials. In that case, it's important to wash recycled clothes in a Guppy Bag. It traps the vast majority of microparticles and reduces pollution of marine ecosystems.

Nylon, even recycled, still causes plastic microparticle pollution.

To prevent it, the most effective solution today is to use a wash bag called Guppy Friend.