Epson and YKK Put Regenerated Fibre Into Zipper Tape

16 July 2026: Epson, YKK Corporation and fashion label YUIMA NAKAZATO have used a non-woven material made from used garments and mill ends in zipper tape for INFERNO, a collection presented at Paris Haute Couture Week on July 8, 2026.

At a Glance ….
– Epson announced the project on July 13, 2026.
– The zipper tape uses a sheet made with Epson’s Dry Fiber Technology.
– Epson says the project is its first attempt to apply the material to zipper tape.
– The component was developed for EXCELLA®, YKK’s highest-grade metal zipper line.

The work moves Epson’s regenerated non-woven material beyond earlier fashion and footwear experiments. The company says its Dry Fiber Technology mechanically separates fibrous material and forms it into new sheets. Epson began applying the process to used garments and mill ends in January 2023 after commercialising the technology for paper recycling.

Zipper tape presents a more demanding use than a flat fashion panel. Conventional zipper tapes are woven, while the Epson material is non-woven. According to the companies, existing production methods could not be applied directly. Epson and YKK therefore evaluated the material’s strength, flexibility and thickness, then adjusted the structure and processing conditions for zipper use.

Epson says the resulting zipper operated smoothly when incorporated into the EXCELLA® line. The component was printed using Epson’s digital textile-printing technology and featured in YUIMA NAKAZATO’s INFERNO collection. That gives the project a public fashion application, but it should not yet be read as a mass-market zipper launch.

Epson and Yuima Nakazato began their collaboration in 2022. The partnership has used digital textile printing and Dry Fiber Technology in couture collections and Epson says sneakers incorporating the regenerated non-woven sheets were commercialised in 2025. The zipper project builds on that material-development work rather than introducing an entirely new fibre process.

Epson presents Dry Fiber Technology as a way to create value from waste fibres and reduce water use in defibration. Its technical page also notes that a small amount of water is used to maintain humidity inside the system. The release does not disclose commercial volumes, unit costs, lifecycle data or a timetable for wider availability.

For the fashion supply chain, the project is notable because trims such as zippers are often overlooked in material-innovation discussions. Whether the concept progresses beyond couture will depend on repeatable manufacturing, performance testing and the ability to meet cost and durability requirements at scale.

https://corporate.epson/en/business/co-creation/activity/yuima-nakazato/