New lifecycle data shows that recycled polyester is not automatically low-carbon: electricity source, transport distance and recycling technology can outweigh the recycled-content label.
A new lifecycle assessment from Textile Exchange and SCS Consulting Services challenges the fashion industry’s tendency to treat recycled polyester as a uniform sustainability solution. The study finds wide environmental differences between production routes, with electricity mix, waste transport and recycling technology strongly influencing emissions.
Energy can erase part of the advantage
The cradle-to-gate study assessed virgin polyester alongside thermomechanical and chemical recycling operations across China, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States. Virgin polyester yarn or staple fibre generated approximately 3.96–4.76 kg CO₂e per kilogram, while thermomechanically recycled staple fibre produced around 3.04 kg CO₂e.
Recycled-chip results varied substantially. Thermomechanical processes ranged from 0.959–1.31 kg CO₂e, while commercial chemical-recycling routes generated around 1.77–2.24 kg. One non-commercial European chemical process achieved 0.683–0.885 kg, illustrating how technology and energy sourcing can materially change outcomes.
Textile Exchange identifies electricity and heat as major hotspots. A recycling plant operating on a coal-intensive grid can therefore carry substantially higher impacts than one using renewable electricity.
Bottle recycling does not close fashion’s loop
Another weakness is feedstock. Recycled polyester reached about 9.3 million tonnes in 2024, but represented only 12% of polyester production, with 98% still derived from plastic bottles rather than textile waste.
Bottle-to-fibre recycling reduces demand for virgin polyester but does little to address discarded clothing. Textile-to-textile systems remain constrained by collection, sorting, blends, contamination and economics. Transporting waste long distances to recycling plants can also materially increase lifecycle impacts.
Procurement needs better metrics
For brands and mills, the implication is clear: “recycled” is a feedstock attribute, not a complete environmental-performance metric. Buyers should increasingly evaluate recycled-polyester suppliers on electricity mix, feedstock origin, transport distance, recycling route and traceability.
The more consequential transition is therefore from bottle-to-textile toward textile-to-textile recycling powered by low-carbon energy, combined with product design that enables garments to be collected, separated and recycled again.
