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Giulio Bonazzi is the visionary leader behind Aquafil, a global materials company at the forefront of circular innovation. Founded over 60 years ago, Aquafil built its legacy manufacturing Nylon 6 fibers, a material traditionally made using fossil fuels – petrochemicals.
But Bonazzi saw a different future, and set out to transform Aquafil from a conventional manufacturer into a pioneer of circular design, starting with asking his team to work out how to regenerate nylon waste, like fishing nets, old carpets, and fabric scraps, into premium-quality polyamide.
In 2011, after many years of R&D, ECONYL® Regenerated Nylon was launched, and today, ECONYL® is used by more than 1,900 brands including Prada, Interface, BMW, and Stella McCartney. Under Bonazzi’s leadership, Aquafil has earned global recognition as a trailblazer in circular manufacturing and a model for how legacy industries can adapt and lead, and it continues to invest in R&D for recyclable textiles and material recovery.
Podcast host Catherine Weetman helps businesses use circular, regenerative and fair solutions to do better, with less.
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Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.
Links for our guest:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/giuliobonazzi/
- https://www.aquafil.com/
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/aquafil-spa/
Guest bio
Giulio Bonazzi is the visionary leader behind Aquafil, a global materials company at the forefront of circular innovation. Founded over 60 years ago in Italy by his parents, Aquafil built its legacy manufacturing Nylon 6 fibers, a material traditionally derived from fossil fuels. But Bonazzi saw a different future.
Determined that the industry could do better, he set out to transform Aquafil from a conventional manufacturer into a pioneer of circular design. He challenged his team to create a way to regenerate nylon waste, like fishing nets, old carpets, and fabric scraps, into premium-quality polyamide. After years of R&D, that vision became reality with the launch of ECONYL® Regenerated Nylon in 2011.
Today, ECONYL® is one of the world’s most sought-after regenerable materials, used by more than 1,900 brands including Prada, Interface, BMW, and Stella McCartney.
Under Bonazzi’s leadership, Aquafil has earned global recognition as a trailblazer in circular manufacturing and a model for how legacy industries can adapt and lead.
Aquafil is a global pioneer in circular materials, transforming the design industry through innovation. Its groundbreaking ECONYL® Regeneration System converts nylon waste, like fishing nets and carpets, into high-performance nylon with the same quality as nylon from oil. With continued R&D in recyclable textiles and material recovery, Aquafil leads the shift toward a fully circular economy for synthetic fibers.
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