Textile enzymatic recycling: closing the cycle in fashion

The post-consumer textile waste crisis is a stark reminder: less than 1% of used fabrics are recycled into new garments.

Every year, millions of tons of discarded clothing end up in landfills or incinerators. Today, less than 1% of the material used to make clothing is recycled into new textile fibers.

Faced with this situation, the fashion sector has promoted recycled polyester as a solution. But the reality is that the vast majority of this “recycled polyester” does not come from used clothing, but from PET plastic bottles. Approximately 99% of recycled polyester used in fashion is made from bottles, nottextiles. 

This practice diverts materials from packaging recycling circuits and creates a false sense of circularity: a jacket made from bottles may prevent that plastic from ending up in the ocean, but it does not solve the problem of what to do with last year’s T-shirts.

True circularity in fashion requires fiber-by-fiber recycling: recovering used garments and transforming them into new, high-quality fabrics. And this is where textile enzymatic recycling comes into play. By using specially designed enzymes to break down synthetic fibers at a molecular level and rebuild them from scratch, this emerging technology offers a true closed-loop solution.

In this article we will see what enzymatic recycling is, how it works and why it is emerging as a paradigm shift for sustainability in fashion. We will also review current cases, such as the innovative Carbios pilots, the technical challenges that still need to be overcome, and what the future could hold. Enzymatic recycling is not just a laboratory idea: it is a concrete proposal to transform textile sustainability and allow companies like ADRASA to promote a more responsible fashion industry.

What is textile enzymatic recycling?

Enzymatic textile recycling is an innovative form of chemical recycling that uses biological catalysts (enzymes) to depolymerize the polymers present in fabrics. In simpler terms, specifically designed enzymes literally digest synthetic fibers such as polyester (PET), breaking down the long polymer chains down to their original building blocks (monomers). These monomers – in the case of polyester, typically terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG) – can be re-polymerized to produce completely new polyester, equivalent in quality to the virgin material. In essence, the process reverts the fabric to its raw material state, allowing the textile manufacturing process to be fed again and thus completing the cycle.

This concept gained momentum from the discovery in 2016 of a soil bacteria capable of degradingPET naturally. Scientists have since improved these enzymes so that they act faster and can handle industrial volumes of plastic. The result: current enzymes that degrade PET are much more powerful and efficient than their natural versions. For example, an enzyme developed by the French company Carbios can decompose 90% of PET in less than 10 hours, a radical improvement over the first “plastic-eating” enzymes, which were too slow or ineffective. This advance now allows enzymatic recycling of polyester on an industrial scale to become a reality.

So how does textile enzymatic recycling work in practice? These are the key steps of the process:

1. Collection and sorting:Textile waste with high polyester content (used clothing, fabric scraps, etc.) is collected. Non-textile components (zippers, buttons) are eliminated and the pieces are classified to isolate 100% polyester materials or mixtures suitable for the process.

2. Pretreatment: Textile waste is shredded or ground into smaller pieces or fibers. Increasing the surface area facilitates the access of enzymes to the polyester for decomposition.

3. Enzymatic depolymerization:The crushed fibers are placed in a reactor along with water and a specific enzyme for PET. Under controlled conditions (temperature of 60–70 °C and appropriate pH), the enzyme selectively breaks the polymer chains of PET. Within a few hours, the long polyester molecules break down into constituent monomers: TPA and E.G.. The enzyme “unwinds” the polymer, reducing it to its basic ingredients.

4. Monomer recovery: The resulting mixture is filtered and chemically processed to recover the monomers. Enzymes and impurities are separated. The result is a raw material comparable in purity to those virgin petrochemical inputs.

5. Re-polymerization: The recovered monomers are introduced into a standard polyester production process (polycondensation), where they react to form new PET – completely new polyester from recycled materials. 

6. Fiber spinning: New polyester is melted and extruded to form fibers, which can then be textured, woven or knitted. The result is a high-quality polyester fabric or thread, indistinguishable from that produced from petroleum. This is used to make new garments, closing the recycling cycle.

By returning used polyester to its original monomers, enzymatic recycling avoids the quality loss that plagues traditional recycling methods. The conventional approach – such as mechanical recycling of PET plastic bottles – is to shred, melt and reuse the material. Although this method is simple, each thermal cycle degrades the molecular weight of the polymer, resulting in a polyester with poorer mechanical properties and often with color or contamination problems. In fact, most mechanically recycled PET fibers have lower strength or quality than virgin PET and are often used in products such as insulation or upholstery, rather than new clothing.

Enzymatic recycling, on the other hand, deconstructs and reconstructs the polymer, so the result is practically identical to the original material. It’s like disassembling a LEGO construction into individual pieces to recreate a new design with the same pieces: all of its structural capacity is recovered.

Furthermore, enzymatic processes are selective: the enzyme acts only on polyester, which makes it possible to treat mixed fabrics as long as this specific fiber can be extracted. This is very different from simply shredding a cotton-polyester blend garment, where the different fiber types remain mixed in the final product.

This method also represents a true form of fiber-to-fiber recycling. Unlike the common practice of making clothing from recycled bottles—a form of bottle-to-fiber recycling—enzymatic recycling aims to directly recover fabrics to transform them back into fabrics.

For example, in 2024 a consortium of companies managed to convert textile waste into a new polyester t-shirt through enzymatic recycling, without using bottles. nor virgin raw materials. It was a historic demonstration of real circularity. We’ll look at that case later, but first it’s worth understanding why this technology is generating so much excitement.

Why is it a revolution?

Textile enzymatic recycling represents a revolutionary innovation for sustainable fashion, as it addresses key limitations of current recycling methods and aligns perfectly with the principles of the circular economy. Here are the main reasons why this approach is so impactful:

Close the cycle of textile waste

Enzymatic recycling allows for true fiber-by-fiber recycling: transforming discarded clothing into new, high-quality fibers. This directly attacks the huge waste problem, turning used textiles into raw materials for new products, without relying on low-quality materials or external waste streams. Unlike conventional recycled polyester (which comes primarily fromPET bottles), this technology allows a worn polyester garment to be recycled over and over again, remaining in circulation indefinitely and preventing it from ending up in landfills or incinerators. It is the key step towards a truly circular economy in fashion.

Quality equivalent to virgin material

A great advantage of the enzymatic process is that the resulting polyester has quality equivalent to virgin. As the polymer is reconstructed from base monomers, the fiber maintains the same chemical and physical properties as thecool polyester: no loss of strength, no contamination and no need to mix with virgin material to meet standards. In a 2024 pilot, enzymatically recycled polyester was verified to havea quality “comparable to virgin polyester of fossil origin.” Furthermore, these recycled monomers can be processed in standard plants without the need to adapt the infrastructure. This type of direct integrationIt represents a before and after compared to conventional recycling, which often produces degraded fibers.

Environmental benefits

Adopting enzymatic recycling of polyester can generate great environmental benefits. Firstly, it reduces dependence on fossil fuels: each ton of recycled textile is a ton of oil that is not extracted. It also prevents the burning of textile waste, an important source of polluting emissions. According to preliminary studies, these advanced processes can reduce carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to the production of virgin polyester (approximately 0.3 kg of CO₂ per kg of recycled fiber compared to 2.2 kg of virgin). Furthermore, it is a clean and moderate process, which in many cases only requires water and enzymatic proteins, without toxic products or extreme temperatures. Together, it saves energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and diverts waste from landfills, offering a much more sustainable life cycle for thepolyester.

Current developments and examples

Leading innovators around the world are working to take enzymatic textile recycling from the laboratory to industrial scale. One of the most prominent players is Carbios, a French biotechnology company that is a pioneer in the enzymatic recycling of PET plastics. Over the last decade, Carbios has developed highly efficient enzymes to degrade PET and has advanced the scalability of this technology. In 2020, they published an article in Nature showing that one of their enzymes could depolymerize 90% of PET inonly 10 hours, an achievement that attracted international attention.

Since then, Carbios has progressed rapidly: it opened a pilot plant in 2021 and is currently building the world’s first industrial plant for enzymatic recycling of PET, which will begin operations in 2025 in collaboration withIndorama Ventures. Big brands have shown interest: Carbios has formed a textile consortium with companies such as On, Patagonia, PUMA, Salomon and PVH (owner of Calvin Klein) to support the development of fiber-to-fiber recycling. This public-private collaboration shows the industry’s enthusiasm for this innovation.

The first achievement: 100% recycled t-shirt from textile waste

In 2024, this consortium presented a historic milestone: a white T-shirt produced entirely from textile waste through enzymatic recycling. No petroleum or recycled bottles were used; Polyester came exclusively from discarded fabrics (factory scraps and used clothing). The material included dyes, waterproof finishes and blends with cotton and elastane. Even so, Carbios managed to extract the polyester, degrade it into monomers, polymerize it again and convert it into yarn to knit the T-shirt. The result was a high-performance sports garment, indistinguishable from one made with virgin polyester. It is considered the first garment in the worldrecycled fiber by fiberthrough biotechnology, and shows that even complex waste can be completely recycled. As Carbios CEO Emmanuel Ladent said:

“It may look like a normal t-shirt, but the technology behind it isextraordinary.”

This achievement marks a before and after: it shows that circular fashion is not a distant ideal, but a real possibility, here and now.

More actors in the field

Carbios leads, but she is not alone. In the US, the startup Protein Evolution is developing enzymes designed by artificial intelligence to recycle textile and plastic waste. In 2024 they announced a process to recycle polyester with results equivalent to fossil-based polyester, and are working on scaling this technology to handle real, contaminated textile waste.

Meanwhile, other companies are exploring complementary advanced methods: some use chemical solvolysis, glycolysis, or hybrid processes where enzymes are combined with chemical catalysts. There are also advances to treat mixed garments: for example, a project in 2024 managed to separate elastane from polyamide in sportswear. Although not all methods are enzymatic, all contribute to a more efficient textile recycling technological ecosystem.

Enzymatic recycling of PET stands out for its versatility (applicable to both bottles and fabrics) and its ecological character. The technology has left the laboratory, it is already producing real results and the first plants are up and running. The challenge now is to scale this innovation until it becomes common practice in thetextile industry.

Technical challenges

Although enzymatic textile recycling is a promising technology, it still faces technical and practical challenges that must be overcome before it can be adopted on a large scale and economically compete with current methods. Below are some of the main challenges:

Complexity of textile waste

Actual textile waste is very diverse and frequently contaminated. A garment may be composed of several fibers (such as a cotton-polyester T-shirt with elastane threads), have chemical finishes (repellents, dyes, primers) or lack clear labeling. Enzymes are usually specific: an enzyme that degrades PET does not affect cotton or elastane. Esto significa que las prendas mixtas son difíciles de reciclar de forma directa.

En el caso de la camiseta reciclada por Carbios, el material incluía algodón y elastano, además de tratamientos químicos. The enzyme managed to extract and recycle only the polyester content; the rest was eliminated as waste. Moving forward, better pretreatment and separation techniques will be needed to obtain polyester-rich streams and facilitate enzymatic action. The development of enzymes that can act in sequence on different types of fibers is an ongoing, but still incipient, line of research.

Cost and scalability

Currently, recycling textiles using enzymes ismore expensivethan producing virgin polyester or even mechanically recycling PET from bottles. Producing enzymes on a large scale has a cost, and recycling facilities require investment. Virgin polyester is extremely cheap, and traditional processes have been optimized for decades.

For enzymatic recycling to be competitive, it is necessary to scale production, increase performance and reduce costs. This involves improving enzymes so that they act with less quantity, designing more efficient reactors and taking advantage of existing infrastructure. También hay una barrera cultural: muchos fabricantes de hilo y tejidos están habituados al poliéster convencional y pueden mostrarse reacios a cambiar a un nuevo tipo de materia prima. However, costs are expected to decrease as demand for circular materials increases and regulations are implemented to encourage their adoption.

Enzyme performance

Enzymes are the heart of the process, and their optimization continues to be key. Although current enzymes have improved greatly since the initial discovery in 2016, there is still room for improvement: faster reaction times, ability to work with higher concentrations of PET, and resistance to more demanding industrial conditions (temperature, pH, impurities).

There are also challenges in recovering and reusing enzymes, as producing them is expensive. Some processes experiment with immobilized enzymes or enzymatic recycling techniques to increase their efficiency. Protein engineering (by directed evolution or machine learning) is helping to create more powerful, faster and more stable enzymes. Each enzymatic improvement represents a direct advance towards the commercial viability of recycling.

Environmental impact and life cycle analysis

Although the goal of enzymatic recycling is to improve sustainability, it is essential to ensure that the process is truly green as a whole. This includes analyzing energy consumption (e.g. heating reactors to 60–70°C), chemical inputs (such as pH regulators) and by-products generated.

The process must be evaluated through life cycle analysis (LCA) to check its carbon footprint, water use and other environmental impacts. According to preliminary data, advanced recycling ofpolyesterIt can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 80% compared to virgin polyester. However, more validation is needed in real, large-scale conditions.

It is also important to consider what happens to non-recycled fractions (such as cotton in blends). If the polyester is extracted, can the remaining cotton be recycled or composted? Comprehensive design and efficient infrastructure are critical to making enzymatic recycling truly sustainable from start to finish.

Future prospects

The progress made so far in enzymatic textile recycling is impressive, but what is coming will be even more decisive. In the coming years, we will see significant progress in scalability, regulatory support, and industry adoption. All of this will be key to determining the real impact that this technology can have on closing the cycle in fashion.

Scaling and industrialization

The immediate next step is to move from pilot projects to full industrial operations. Carbios’ first commercial plant (currently under construction in France) will be a key milestone, with the capacity to process tens of thousands of tonnes of PET waste per year. If successful, we’ll probably see moresimilar plantsin Europe, Asia and North America.

Carbios has already signed letters of intent with several PET manufacturers to license its technology, demonstrating global interest. New facilities will also emerge promoted by other startups or chemical companies that are committed to enzymatic or hybrid processes. Between 2025 and 2030 we could have a network of plants that transform textile waste into circular raw materials. This will also require an effective system of selective collection of textile waste, something that the EU is already promoting with its obligation of differentiated collection to from 2025.

Public policies are leading the way: the European Commission’s Textile Strategy requires that all textiles on the European market be recyclable and composed mostly of recycled fibers by 2030. Regulations such as extended producer responsibility (EPR), which oblige brands to finance waste management, will create powerful incentives to expand recycling infrastructure. The combination of investment, innovation and regulation will form the basis of the future textile recycling ecosystem.

Integration with brands and consumers

From a brands point of view, the future will involve integrating these enzymatically recycled fibers into products and communicating their benefits to the consumer. There are already pioneering brands (such as Patagonia, Puma or Adidas) that are investing in these technologies and carrying out pilot tests. As soon as there is sufficient supply, they will begin offering garments made from recycled polyester textiles.

For example, Puma’s purchasing manager has expressed his intention that “100% of the brand’s polyester will come from textile waste in the future.” This trend can become widespread, replacing virgin polyester without loss of quality, and becoming a powerful sustainability argument. Transparency will be key to this: the traceability of the process will facilitate the certification of “enzymatically recycled” fibers, generating trust among consumers.

Imagine a future where consumers can return their used garments to brands and receive others made from the same regenerated materials. This emotional closing of the cycle reinforces the commitment to the circular economy.

Comprehensive vision of circularity

Polyester represents more than half of the fibers used in fashion, but it is not the only one. The textile recycling of the future will combine different processes for each type of material: enzymatic recycling of polyester could be complemented with chemical technologies for polyamides or cellulose regeneration processes for cotton.

This will allow mixed garments to be recycled by component: polyester will go to enzymatic recycling, cotton to cellulose recycling, and both will be converted into new fibers that can be combined again. The key will be a smart sorting infrastructure and recycling-oriented garment design, with monofiber fabrics or easy-to-separate components. Future regulation may even require ecodesign from the source to facilitate this process.

Continuous innovation

Beyond 2030, progress will continue to be driven by scientific innovation. Enzymes will be increasingly faster, more resistant and capable of treating more complex waste. We will see enzymes that act at higher temperatures, that can digest mixed or dyed polyesters, or that work on fibers that are not recyclable today such as elastane or polyurethanes.

Multi-enzyme systems or circular biorefineries will also emerge that process textile waste in a similar way to how nature recycles organic matter. Collaborations between biotech startups, tissue manufacturers and brands will be essential to scale these solutions.

In summary, the future of enzymatic textile recycling is very promising: industrial plants, supportive policies and brands committed to circular fashion. For companies like ADRASA, these advances open new possibilities to integrate truly sustainable materials and reduce their environmental footprint.

Conclusion

The arrival of enzymatic textile recycling marks a turning point in the quest for a truly circular fashion industry. By allowing old fabrics to be converted into new fibers without loss of quality, this technology addresses one of the sector’s biggest challenges: the continued waste of non-renewable materials. Instead of seeing a polyester garment as a product with an expiration date, we can now imagine it as part of an infinite cycle, being reborn again and again thanks to innovation.

The impact of this cannot be underestimated: it can significantly reduce textile waste, cut emissions and reduce dependence on fossil resources, all without compromising quality or performance. Enzymatic recycling is not just a new method: it is a catalyst for systemic change towards sustainability in the world of fashion.

InADRASA, we are deeply committed to moving towards more sustainable textile chemistry and adopting solutions that generate real impact. We believe that innovations such as enzymatic recycling will be key to closing the cycle and achieving a true circular economy in the textile sector. We admire the work of the scientists, engineers and collaborators who are driving these advances, and we are prepared to support and integrate these recycled materials into our own products and developments wherever possible.

Our call is clear: to all industry stakeholders – brands, manufacturers, policymakers and consumers – now is the time to act. Brands must invest in and test these technologies; Designers must think about the “end of life” from the conception of the product; Governments must establish regulatory frameworks that make recycling a default option. And consumers can do their part by returning used clothing and supporting brands committed to circularity.

If we work together to scale circular solutions like enzymatic textile recycling, we can radically change the fate of our garments. The vision of circular fashion—where clothing is not “waste,” but rather raw material for new garments—is finally beginning to become a reality. This type of recycling gives us the tools to achieve it. It is an inspiring example of how human intelligence can imitate nature to solve a problem of our own making.

At ADRASA we are proud to be part of this movement, and we encourage the entire textile community to join. Because the future of fashion can—and should—be one where style and sustainability go hand in hand. And enzymatic recycling is helping to weave that future, fiber by fiber.

Let’s close the circle together.

At ADRASA we believe in a textile industry where chemical innovation is at the service of sustainability. If you share this vision, we invite you to continue exploring our publications and contact us to collaborate on more responsible and circular solutions.

Do you want to know more about how we innovate in sustainable textile finishes? Visitadrasa.name/contact