From recycled polyester to a closed loop
NOLT (Nothing is Lost) designs and sells sports jerseys made from recycled polyester, sourced in part from plastic bottles collected in the Mediterranean, from its base in Nice. With the Infinite Jersey, the company takes this a step further: turning end-of-life jerseys into raw material for the next production run, within a fully closed loop where nothing is wasted.
The process unfolds in four stages. Polyester textile waste is first collected, then depolymerised in France by Recyc’Elit to obtain rPET powder, which is turned into pellets. These pellets are then spun into new polyester yarn, knitted in Spain into a recycled fabric. The final stage, garment assembly, takes place in European workshops. This molecular recycling process cuts CO₂ emissions by 41% compared to using virgin, petroleum-based polyester.
“The Infinite Jersey is the dream NOLT was built on. A dream that gives meaning to everything we do, to transform sport and reduce its environmental impact. We are proud to see it become reality today with our partners Recyc’Elit, IFTH and Refashion,” says Paul Guinard, CEO and co-founder of NOLT.
A subscription model to secure tomorrow’s raw material
Scaling up the Infinite Jersey relies on a new economic model: from the 2027-2028 season, football, volleyball, basketball and running clubs will be able to rent a personalised kit (jersey, shorts, socks) for 24 months, at €2 per month per player, delivery and collection included, or €30 per month for a 15-player team. At the end of the 24 months, jerseys and shorts re-enter the manufacturing loop, while R-SOCK socks follow their own recycling stream.
“With the subscription, we’re changing the way we think about sports equipment. From the moment a club subscribes, we know when the kit will come back and what it will become. Clubs get a simple, affordable offer suited to their budget. At the same time, NOLT gains visibility over the volumes of material that will feed future production. This model will allow the Infinite Jersey to scale up and durably reduce sport’s textile waste,” explains Olivier Guigonis, co-founder of NOLT.
An industrial partner to support the shift to scale
Matmut joined the project as Major Partner of the Infinite Jersey, in a partnership running through the end of 2029. The insurer’s commitment goes beyond financial support: it backs the research effort, supplies part of the raw material through in-house collections of used technical textiles, and will equip its employees with technical t-shirts made from the process starting in 2027.
“Supporting environmental sustainability in sport is one of the missions of our Matmut engagement programme ‘Le Sport TRÈS Collectif’. We are committed to supporting our partner clubs and the sporting events we organise as they transform their model to embed more sustainability. Becoming a partner of NOLT means helping to prove, in practice, that we can all act to make the sport ecosystem more responsible,” says Stéphanie Boutin, Communications & CSR Director at Matmut Group.
Four areas of expertise brought together around one project
The Infinite Jersey Project brings together four complementary areas of expertise: NOLT for the design of the equipment, Recyc’Elit for molecular recycling, IFTH (the French Textile and Apparel Institute) for scientific validation, and Refashion, the approved eco-organisation for textiles, which recognised the project at its 2023 Innovation Challenge.
“The Infinite Jersey shows that it is now possible to recycle end-of-life sports textiles to produce new equipment. This first production run validates each stage of the textile-to-textile loop and paves the way for its deployment at greater scale,” says Raouf Medimagh, CEO and co-founder of Recyc’Elit.
“We are delighted to have supported the Infinite Jersey by NOLT, winner of Refashion’s 2023 Innovation Challenge. This project, which covers every stage of the recycling value chain, from the collection of used textiles to the regeneration of jerseys in polyester, immediately convinced the jury from Refashion’s Scientific Committee. It reflects NOLT’s commitment and builds on the R-Shape project, awarded at Refashion’s 2020 Innovation Challenge,” adds Véronique Allaire-Spitzer, Director of Perma-Circularity at Refashion.
Sources: NOLT, Matmut, Presse Agence, Les Petites Affiches
