IN BRIEF
VELOR, a Dutch brand founded by two French brothers, is launching RELOV: a cycling jersey it presents as the first fully circular one. The principle comes down to a loop — collect worn-out technical garments, break them down chemically, then spin the result back into yarn for a brand-new jersey. Designed and manufactured in Europe, it is said to carry a footprint of around 0.9 kg CO2e, close to 70% less than a virgin polyester jersey produced in Asia, according to the brand. Launch price: 139 euros, in two colourways.
| Brand | VELOR (Netherlands, founded in 2021) |
| Product | RELOV jersey |
| Material | 85% recycled textile waste |
| Process | Glycolysis (chemical recycling of polyester) |
| Carbon footprint | ≈ 0.9 kg CO2e per jersey (≈ −70% vs virgin polyester from Asia, according to the brand) |
| Water saved | ≈ 69% (according to the brand) |
| Certifications | Bluesign, GRS (Global Recycled Standard); B-Corp certified brand |
| Manufacturing | Designed, recycled and manufactured in Europe |
| Colourways | Forest and Dunes, men’s and women’s cut |
| Price | €139 (launch) |
An old cycling jersey rarely ends well. Too technical for conventional recycling channels, it usually ends up incinerated or landfilled. The brand VELOR is offering another way out: turning it into a new jersey. Its RELOV model, which it has just launched, claims the title of first fully circular cycling jersey.
A jersey born from old jerseys
The name already gives the idea away: RELOV is an anagram of VELOR, a nod to the loop the jersey is meant to close. Collect worn-out technical garments at the end of their life, take them back to fibre, then weave a new jersey — without starting again from petroleum-based polyester.
Behind the brand are two French brothers, Florian and Mickaël Jardin, based in the Netherlands where they founded VELOR in 2021. They report five years of research and industrial partnerships to develop the process.
Why a jersey cannot be recycled like a bottle
Recycling a jersey is anything but straightforward. Most of them combine polyester and elastane, a mix that mechanical recycling — the kind that shreds the material and spins it again — cannot separate cleanly. VELOR therefore turned to glycolysis, a form of chemical recycling.
The process breaks polyester down to its base molecules before reassembling them into new fibres. The end result, the brand says, matches the quality of virgin polyester — which matters on a jersey, where shape retention and breathability are not negotiable.
A production chain that stays in Europe
Before becoming yarn again, the textile waste passes through several hands. The company Nouvelles Fibres Textiles first strips it of its contaminants. The material then moves on to the network of Spanish partner Antex, before being fed back into the production chain. At the end of 2025, VELOR said it had collected 1.5 tonnes of textile waste to supply this circuit.
Designed, recycled and manufactured in Europe, the jersey is said to carry a footprint of around 0.9 kg CO2e per piece. That is close to 70% less than a virgin polyester jersey produced in Asia, according to the brand, which relies on estimates aligned with the methodologies of ADEME, France’s environment agency. It also claims 85% recycled textile waste in the composition and close to 69% water saved, for a product billed as fully recyclable.
The jersey is certified Bluesign and GRS (Global Recycled Standard), two sustainable textile standards; the brand itself is B-Corp certified. To avoid overproducing, VELOR makes around half of its sales through pre-orders.
Two colourways, 139 euros, and a target set for 2028
The RELOV comes in two colourways, Forest and Dunes, in men’s and women’s cuts. It is offered at a launch price of 139 euros, on the brand’s website. VELOR does not intend to stop at a showcase piece.
From 2028, our ambition is for all our jerseys to be made from recycled textile waste.
Florian Jardin, co-founder of VELOR
Enough to judge the promise on the evidence within two years. In the meantime, RELOV remains a premium jersey, whose environmental figures come from the brand, not from an independent audit. But it does put numbers on the table — where the sector too often settles for promises.
