Is recycled polyester from bottles a broken promise?

The fashion industry's love affair with recycled polyester made from plastic bottles has hit a snag. While initially hailed as a sustainable solution, a new understanding of its limitations is prompting a shift towards a more circular approach.

The flawed narrative of bottle-to-clothes recycling

For decades, brands like H&M, Patagonia, and Zara championed recycled polyester from plastic bottles. The logic was simple, reduce reliance on virgin polyester, a petroleum-based product with a high carbon footprint. However, this approach has its drawbacks.

Disrupts bottle recycling loops, turning bottles into clothes competes with closed-loop bottle recycling for beverage containers. This means fewer bottles get recycled back into bottles. Also, transforming bottles into polyester requires significant energy, negating some of the environmental benefits. As Richard Wielechowski, Senior Investment Analyst, Planet Tracker points out, the biggest problem with bottles as a source for recycled polyester is that it takes bottles out of a circular loop in plastic packaging.

Then there are worries about landfill. The fact is most clothing made from recycled polyester ends up in landfills, contributing to microplastic pollution and methane emissions. Synthetic fabrics, including recycled polyester, shed microplastics when washed, contributing to plastic pollution in oceans and waterways.

The rise of textile-to-textile recycling

A new wave of innovation is focusing on a more sustainable solution: textile-to-textile recycling. This involves breaking down old clothes and textile scraps into reusable polyester fibers.

• H&M's big bet: H&M's $600 million investment in Syre, a startup pioneering textile-to-textile recycling, reflects this shift. Syre aims to build large-scale plants that can process vast quantities of used clothing. Daniel Ervér, CEO, H&M Group says they want to continue to drive and inspire more industry players to join them in closing the loop.
• Industry collaboration: Brands like Zara from Inditex and Puma are also embracing this approach, partnering companies like Ambercycle and moving away from bottle-based recycled polyester.

However, challenges remain. First is that of microplastics as even recycled polyester sheds microplastics during washing. The industry needs solutions to minimize fiber release and develop filtration systems for washing machines. The there is the issue of scaling up. Large-scale textile recycling infrastructure is still nascent. Collaboration across the industry is crucial to ensure sufficient capacity. That's why you need partners and suppliers that can deliver at a massive scale, explains Dennis Nobelius, CEO, Syre.

A big picture impact

Indeed, the shift towards textile-to-textile recycling can significantly impact the fashion industry's sustainability efforts. As less reliance on virgin polyester, translates to a lower carbon footprint. Also closing the loop on textile waste minimizes landfill waste and promotes a more sustainable production cycle.

Meanwhile consumer demand for sustainable practices and government regulations like the EU's EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) are driving the change. Brands are under increasing pressure to find sustainable solutions, and textile-to-textile recycling provides a promising answer.

The narrative of recycled polyester from bottles is evolving. While it played a role in raising awareness about sustainability, a more circular approach focused on textile-to-textile recycling is gaining traction. This shift, coupled with efforts to address microplastic pollution, offers a brighter future for a more sustainable fashion industry.