Polyester

A new lifecycle assessment study on polyester has been published, providing fresh impact data on virgin production in Southeast Asia and recycled production in China, Europe, and the United States. The findings pinpoint where environmental pressure is concentrated across production routes and include a social assessment of conditions affecting workers and communities.

Recycled polyester has become a default sustainability claim across activewear, swimwear and outerwear, but its supply chain is less circular than its labelling suggests. Most of the material still comes from PET drink bottles, not discarded textiles, raising difficult questions about whether fashion is solving waste or diverting it from better-functioning recycling systems globally instead.

Greener polyester dyeing has moved closer to industrial use after University of Leeds spinout SwitchDye secured minority equity investment from John Hogg Technical Solutions. The partnership will support factory-level trials, combining SwitchDye’s carbonated-water colouration process with John Hogg’s production knowledge, stewardship experience and customer access.

A redesigned fusion enzyme accelerated PET breakdown under industrial conditions, marking a step forward in polyester textile recycling. The study showed that performance depended on matching enzyme design with plastic preparation, with reduced crystallinity enabling more efficient depolymerisation in otherwise resistant textile materials.

Scientists from the University of Leeds have developed SwitchDye, a novel polyester dyeing method that uses carbonated water to reduce chemical discharge and water waste. The approach lowers environmental impact, simplifies recycling, and supports more circular textile production by enabling dyes to be easily inserted and removed without requiring new industrial equipment.

Locally produced circular sportswear could have a smaller environmental footprint than a conventional polyester garment reference, a new lifecycle and microfibre assessment has modelled. Renewable-energy use, shorter transport routes, and circular design choices together could reduce climate impacts and microplastic emissions, the researchers have contended.

From a 90-day credit norm to 250 and counting, India’s textile market has turned into a waiting game. One jolt followed another — demonetisation, GST, lockdowns, wild cotton swings. Through it all, Gujarat’s textile heartland endures, with traders and manufacturers like Gaurang Bhagat and his LB Tex battling to keep India’s fabric trade from tearing apart.

A riven industry, dumping from China, GST mismatch, need for a uniform countrywide textile policy, the scourge that is fake billing — in spite of it all and more, the enormous potential that this ancient warpwork holds is shackled by systemic inefficiencies, implores Gaurang Bhagat, Treasurer at the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Founder of the ₹1000-crore LB Tex.

French researchers have developed a revolutionary approach to recycling mixed polyester waste from textiles and appliances. By combining controlled heating with smart mixing techniques, the method eliminates sorting requirements whilst achieving 90% recycling efficiency. The breakthrough could transform how the fashion industry handles synthetic textile waste streams.

Why is depolymerisation of post-consumer textile waste in Europe not scaling up? A report discusses the issue at length and suggests coordinated action by policy and industry on ten interdependent levers that should be activated together to reach a tipping point.