Recent developments in recycled polyester are flourishing across multiple fronts: Primark partners with Circ, a consortium including Patagonia and Puma leverages Carbios technology, BESTSELLER teams up with matterr to build a 10,000-ton facility, Finland's VTT launches the PETcovery project, and BASF introduces Ultradur containing 30% post-consumer recycled content.

  • Primark has reached a partnership with recycling specialist Circ, planning to incorporate recycled polyester derived from textile waste into its apparel lines starting in 2029.
  • Danish brand BESTSELLER is collaborating with German company matterr to build a facility designed to process 10,000 tons of polyester waste annually.
  • A consortium of brands including Patagonia and Puma is using technology from French biochemistry company Carbios to convert complex textile and plastic waste into recycled polyester, and believes the technology has significant potential for scaling.

Polyester's position in textile production is difficult to replace, and recycled polyester at least offers a path to reducing its environmental impact. Recently, multiple brands, materials companies, and research institutions have disclosed new progress around the production and scaling of recycled polyester.

On the brand procurement side, Irish fashion brand Primark announced a partnership with recycling specialist Circ. Primark has been pushing to increase the share of recycled materials in its clothing, and under this partnership, Primark plans to use recycled polyester made from textile waste in apparel production starting in 2029.

On the technology collaboration side, a consortium of well-known brands including Patagonia and Puma has used technology from French biochemistry company Carbios to convert complex textile and plastic waste into recycled polyester. The consortium believes this technology has the potential to scale significantly.

On the capacity-building side, Danish apparel brand BESTSELLER is collaborating with German company matterr. matterr has developed a chemical recycling technology to separate polyester from hard-to-recycle clothing and packaging waste. BESTSELLER is currently building a facility with a designed annual processing capacity of 10,000 tons of polyester waste.

On the research project side, Finnish research institution VTT has launched a project called PETcovery, aiming to demonstrate chemical recycling of PET plastic and polyester clothing using novel catalysts. The project hopes to accelerate the recycling process through this approach.

On the materials supply side, BASF has launched its Ultradur engineering plastics series, with post-consumer recycled content of up to 30%.

These developments show that recycled polyester is advancing along multiple technological pathways: brands securing long-term procurement, consortia validating chemical depolymerization processes, companies investing in scaled capacity, research institutions working on catalyst acceleration, and materials suppliers increasing recycled content ratios. For the used clothing and textile waste trade industry, this means the destination of textile waste is extending from downcycling toward closed-loop recycling, and upstream sorting, composition assessment, and stable supply capabilities may become key links for connecting with these new capacities.

Source: Exciting Recent Developments in Recycled Polyester · Originally published on 2026-10-13