A team led by Wang Jinfeng at Wuhan Textile University, in a five-year joint effort with the Institute of Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed the world's first recycled garment made from cotton textile waste with a fully sustainable, full-process technology, achieving "fiber-to-fiber, fabric-to-fabric" closed-loop recycling. The achievement was showcased as a denim-style fashion piece, and a pilot line has been built in Tianjin, with plans for large-scale application before 2030.

Key Points

  • China generates about 26 million tons of discarded clothing annually, projected to reach 50 million tons by 2030. Currently, the comprehensive recycling rate is below 30%, with over 73% incinerated or landfilled, and less than 1% truly closed-loop recycled.
  • The technology uses low-temperature cooking to decolorize and remove low-proportion polyester, followed by ionic liquid-based clean spinning, using only one reagent with a solvent recovery rate exceeding 99%.
  • The team has entered deep cooperation with China Resource Recycling Group, built a pilot line in Tianjin, and plans to scale up next-generation technology before 2030.

Traditional physical recycling can only downgrade materials, and while chemical recycling can achieve same-grade regeneration, only polyester has been industrialized for a long time—cotton recycling has remained a global challenge. Wang Jinfeng's team constructed a full-chain technical route of "component separation + clean spinning + spinning and weaving + sustainable design": first, low-temperature cooking decolorizes waste textiles and removes low-proportion polyester to obtain high-purity cotton raw material; then they tackled green spinning—traditional spinning requires over a dozen steps and more than 20 chemical reagents, with high energy consumption and pollution, whereas the team's innovative ionic liquid method uses only one reagent, achieving a solvent recovery rate above 99% and a green closed-loop production process.

Wang Jinfeng stated: "By disassembling and reconstructing waste cotton fibers at the molecular level, the resulting recycled fibers are almost indistinguishable from virgin cotton fibers in strength, color, and hand feel." The entire garment uses a single material, with adjustable sleeves, collar, and waist to fit different body types and scenarios, and supports DIY component assembly to enhance consumers' emotional connection with clothing and extend its lifespan.

The technological breakthrough is accelerating out of the lab. Currently, a pilot line has been built in Tianjin, and the team is deeply cooperating with China Resource Recycling Group to advance industrialization. Some automotive interior and packaging companies have also proactively sought cooperation, hoping to apply recycled materials in their products. Wang Jinfeng noted: "The EU will implement an extended producer responsibility system for textiles in 2030, requiring all textiles to contain at least 30% recycled fibers. This is both a challenge and an opportunity for China's textile export enterprises."

The team is upgrading the second-generation recycled garment technology, planning large-scale application before 2030 to more than double China's cotton closed-loop recycling rate. For the old clothing recycling and export industry, this means that cotton old clothes, long only downgradable to mops and fillers, may gain same-grade recycled export channels, and it also provides a domestic technology option for meeting the EU's mandatory recycled fiber content requirements.

Source: 〖Science and Technology Daily〗Old Clothes Become New! China Conquers Full-Chain Cotton Textile Waste Recycling Technology · Originally published on 2026-04-13