CARBIOS, a leader in biological technologies for plastics and textiles, has announced a major advancement in textile recycling. In collaboration with its “fiber-to-fiber” consortium partners—On, Patagonia, PUMA, Salomon, and PVH Corp. (parent of Calvin Klein)—CARBIOS has produced the world’s first t-shirt made entirely from 100% textile waste through enzymatic recycling.
This innovation tackles a significant challenge in the textile industry, where most recycled polyester is sourced from PET bottles, and only 1% of fibers are recycled into new fibers. The consortium aims to establish a closed-loop system using CARBIOS’ biorecycling technology, promoting circularity in textiles.
The t-shirt serves as a plain white showcase for the technology that recycles mixed and colored textile waste. CARBIOS’ process breaks polyester down into its core components—Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Monoethylene Glycol (MEG)—which are then reformed into high-quality biorecycled polyester. This approach shifts the industry towards using textile waste as a renewable resource, thereby reducing carbon footprints and landfill waste.
Production began with consortium members supplying textile waste to CARBIOS in Clermont-Ferrand. The waste underwent deconstruction using CARBIOS’ technology, and the resulting monomers were repolymerized, spun into yarn, and woven into fabric, demonstrating seamless integration with existing manufacturing processes.
CARBIOS’ demonstration plant has been operational since 2021, and its first commercial facility, the world’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling plant, is being built in Longlaville, France. The company has also secured letters of intent with PET producers in Asia and Europe, signaling growing global interest in its biorecycling technology.
Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of CARBIOS, noted the significance of this achievement, highlighting the collaborative effort required to overcome technical challenges. Consortium members reiterated their commitment to advancing circularity in the textile industry, emphasizing the importance of scaling this technology to achieve broader sustainability goals.
This announcement marks a pivotal moment in the movement toward sustainable textile production, showcasing the potential of enzymatic recycling technologies and the collaborative effort needed to redefine material life cycles in the fashion industry.