In a significant textile industry breakthrough, Carbios and its fibre-to-fibre consortium brand partners On, Patagonia, Puma, PVH and Salomon, have unveiled a plain, white polyester t-shirt that has been produced from 100% mixed and coloured textile waste. 

With Carbios biorecycling technology, waste polyester is broken down using enzymes into its fundamental building blocks which are reformed to produce biorecycled polyester with quality on par with oil-based virgin polyester. 

The t-shirt’s production began with all consortium members supplying rolls and production cutting scraps to Carbios in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The waste consisted of mixed blends of polyester with cotton and/or elastane, as well as various treatments such as durable water repellents and dyes, making them extremely complex to recycle using conventional methods.

The collected waste was deconstructed into its original monomers, PTA and MEG, at the Carbios pilot facility.

The resulting monomers were then repolymerized, spun into yarn and woven into new fabric by external partners, demonstrating their seamless integration into existing manufacturing processes.

 The resulting t-shirt made from 100% textile waste meets the quality standards and sustainability objectives of the apparel brands of the consortium.

The Carbios demonstration plant in Clermont-Ferrand has been up and running since 2021 and the company’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling plant is currently under construction in Longlaville, France. In addition, Carbios recently announced several letters of intent with PET producers in Asia and Europe, confirming global interest in its biorecycling technology and advancing the international roll-out of its licensing model.

The majority of recycled polyester is currently made from PET bottles and only 1% of fibres are recycled into new fibres. The collective achievement marks an important milestone for the consortium’s ultimate aim of demonstrating fibre-to-fibre closed loop manufacturing.

“It may look like an ordinary t-shirt, but make no mistake, the technology behind this is extraordinary,” said Carbios CEO Emmanuel Ladent. “To achieve true fibre-to-fibre recycling is a technological feat and Carbios couldn’t have done it alone. Thanks to the collaboration with our consortium partners we have overcome many technical hurdles to produce the world’s first enzymatically recycled t-shirt made entirely from biorecycled fibres.”

“We know that fibre-to-fibre recycling is a crucial step in driving our industry towards circularity, which is why we have dedicated energy and investment into researching this area,” added On’s Director of Sustainabililty Begem Kurkcu. “Our engagement with Carbios and the other consortium members is an important step in enabling the industry to achieve game-changing circular technologies at scale.”

www.carbios.com