New contract with H&M Purchased $600 million of “circular” polyester over seven years from Syre.The Swedish startup it co-founded is highlighting one of fashion's dirty secrets: Making new polyester from recycled bottles sounds environmentally friendly, but in reality, polyester is a major source of pollution. And recycling bottles to make more polyester may be worse than the alternative of keeping the bottles in the beverage industry where they can be recycled.
Some fashion companies are now moving towards circular fiber-to-textile solutions that completely eliminate recycled bottles from the process.
Fashion companies have been turning old plastic bottles into new clothing for decades in hopes of reducing demand for virgin polyester, a petrochemical with an admittedly large carbon footprint. Polyester is made from natural gas and crude oil, which disproportionately contribute to the climate crisis.
We look forward to continuing to drive and inspire more industry players to join us to close the loop and accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable future.
Many brands, including Aeropostale, Guess, Lands' End, Patagonia, and Speedo, sell clothing made from the following materials: restraint, material It begins as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) soda bottle.
Repreve maker Unifi of Greensboro, North Carolina, announced it has recycled nearly 40 billion bottles into fiber-based products. According to him, 99% of recycled polyester comes from plastic bottles. non-profit textile exchange.
When recycling is not desirable
However, there is a problem with that. It takes energy to turn plastic bottles into polyester. And all the bottles that become shirts are bottles that have not been recycled as bottles.
„The biggest problem with bottles as a raw material for recycled polyester is that they take the bottles out of something like a plastic packaging loop and instead send the plastic to be processed into apparel,“ said Planet Tracker's senior investment analyst. „It ends up going to a landfill.“ Richard Wilechowski said.
Regulators are focusing on: European Union Green Claims For example, the directive frowns on recycling bottles into textiles. Competes with closed-loop recycling of bottles For drinks.
Polyester circulation solution
Fashion retailers are increasingly turning away plastic bottles as recycled fibers. Instead, they are moving towards what they believe is a truly circular option: using polyester from worn clothing and scraps.
H&M Group, Zara owner Inditex, and Puma are among the companies focusing on recycled fiber-to-fiber polyester.
Before H&M invested $600 million with Syre, the company had been in stealth mode for two years exploring chemical recycling technology developed at North Carolina's Research Triangle Park. Syre's other backers include impact investor Vargas Holding, which raised $20 billion „to decarbonize 1 percent of the world's emissions.“ Investment firm TPG Rise Climate is providing seed funding.
“With this solution that rapidly scales up textile-to-textile recycling, we are closing the loop and encouraging more industry players to join us to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future.” We look forward to continuing to promote and inspire,” said Daniel Herbert, CEO of H&M Group. Press release March 6th. H&M says that if successful, it could „cover a significant portion“ of the demand for recycled polyester, which is currently made from plastic bottles.
H&M has come under fire in the US for greenwashing its polyester bottles. But last summer, a federal court rejected a proposed class action lawsuit Goes against the brand's „sustainable“ marketing.
What Shea is trying to do
H&M's sustainability goals include sourcing half of its materials from recycled sources. The company says it has nearly achieved its goal of using 30% recycled materials by 2025, and hopes to reach 50% by 2030.
Syre CEO Dennis Nobelius said he foresees the need for a „great textile transformation“ towards a circular economy that eliminates waste. “That's why we need partners and suppliers who can provide services at scale to circulate these industries,” Nobelius told GreenBiz. „H&M fashion will be circulated by H&M as new threads and fibers.“
That's why we need partners and suppliers who can provide services at scale to keep these industries in circulation.
Syre's first plant in North Carolina is a „blueprint“ operation that fine-tunes the process. It is scheduled to begin operation this summer. The company then hopes to commission the first of 12 commercial plants internationally by the second half of 2026. Eventually, within 10 years, all the plants will be operational, producing more than 3 million tons per year.
„Brands, today's sorters and collectors, today's recycling companies all need to be on board to achieve the volumes we need,“ Nobelius said.
the demand already exists
Consumers and fashion brands are purchasing polyester in record time. In the 1990s, synthetic fibers overtook the previous king of textiles, cotton. Polyester accounts for 54% of the world's textile production. It also accounts for 15% of recycled fibers, more than any other fiber.
Governments are also tilting the market. Europe encourages textile recycling through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, which hold brands accountable for reducing the environmental impact of their products even after they are sold.
As a result, Unifi has announced that it will step up its textile recycling over the next six years, converting the equivalent of 1.5 billion old T-shirts into new resin for polyester yarn by 2030.
This is „an opportunity to help brands and retailers accelerate the achievement of their sustainability goals,“ Unifi CEO Eddie Ingle told GreenBiz.
Further developments in polyester fiber recycling
H&M is among 124 signatories for 2025 Challenge to recycled polyester Alongside Eileen Fisher, Gap, Levi Strauss and Nike. In April 2021, the non-profit organization Textile Exchange, in collaboration with the United Nations, launched an initiative to increase the market share of recycled polyester in the fashion sector from 14% to 45% in 2025.
Other movements include:
- During February, Patagonia and Eastman We partnered to chemically recycle 8,000 pounds of clothing. Patagonia polyester clothing is 92 percent recycled by weight. Patagonia sold its first recycled bottle polyester fleece in 1993. The company hopes to stop using virgin polyester by 2025.
- In November, ZARA's parent company Inditex signs 3-year contract purchase ~ for $76 million Psychola, made from post-consumer polyester clothing from Ambercycle. The Los Angeles-based startup has raised $28.1 million in funding. The deal supports Inditex's goal to source a quarter of its textiles from „next generation materials“ by 2025.
- During December, Puma announces withdrawal Re:Fibre Recycled Recovered from bottles as raw material for polyester. from this year, Polyester recycled from waste materials The worn-out clothing is then used to make soccer jerseys worn during the Euro and Copa America tournaments. The company hopes to source 100% of its polyester from waste fibers.
- French biorecycling startup Carbios launches in October announced a new process Convert old clothes and scraps into fiber using enzymes. In 2022, the company established his two-year non-competitive organization. Partnership with PUMA, ON and Salomon.
- November's designer label Stella McCartney Parker was exhibited Made in partnership with protein evolution Originally from New Haven, Connecticut.The startup has raised $20 million in seed funding for the process. Uses enzymes designed by AI Making new PET from waste polyester.
Microfiber problems
Activists, researchers and analysts have warned against the industry's reliance on polyester because microfibers end up in rivers and oceans when worn or washed. They say recycled polyester only delays the inevitable. Only 1% of clothing is recycled. Most clothing ends up in landfills or incinerators, polluting air, soil, and water. As a result, more than 14 million tonnes of microplastics, much of it from clothing, have settled on the ocean floor. According to the European Environment Agency.
Is recycling fossil fuel-based inputs that emit microplastics and decompose over generations the right aspiration to achieve environmental improvements?
“Is recycling fossil fuel-based inputs that emit microplastics and decompose over generations the right aspiration to achieve environmental improvements?” Ken, Professor of Practice at the Fletcher School at Tufts University・Mr. Packer says: I wrote it on LinkedIn. „It's not clear that 'getting there' will ultimately reduce carbon emissions anywhere near the promise,“ he told GreenBiz in an email.
Nevertheless, proponents of cyclic polyester argue that it keeps the material out of landfills and reduces methane emissions.
Unifi's Ingle said the industry needs to balance polyester recycling with efforts to reduce microfiber pollution, such as designing garments to reduce shedding and integrating textile filters into laundry operations. .
Industry efforts to minimize plastic pollution from apparel include: 2030 Microfiber Consortium, a group of companies working on ways to change manufacturing methods to reduce the amount of fiber shed from clothing. Signatories include H&M, Patagonia, and Puma.