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★Mark us as a preferred sourceIn June 2026, Textile Exchange published its latest summary outlining the life cycle assessment (LCA) of polyester. Based on production data from 2022 to 2024, this comprehensive research provides detailed insights into the environmental and social impacts of virgin polyester production, as well as chemical and thermomechanical recycling processes.
Objective, Scope, and Methodology of the Research
The study aimed to create robust and transparent environmental datasets for virgin polyester production and to better understand the impacts of recycling methods. Data was collected from five polyethylene terephthalate (PET) manufacturers operating in Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia, and China. The study employs a non-comparative, attributional LCA approach focusing on a cradle-to-gate system boundary, thereby excluding downstream applications and packaging.
The analysis was conducted based on the ISO 14044:2006 standard guidelines, under the supervision of an independent peer-review panel and a Technical Advisory Group (TAG). Depending on the technology type, the functional units examined were: 1 kg of PET chips, 1 kg of staple fiber, 1 kg of partially oriented yarn (POY), and 1 kg of drawn textured yarn (DTY), all for textile applications. The research utilized the 100:0 (cut-off) recycled content method for impact allocation.
Environmental Footprint and Production Process of Virgin PET
Virgin PET production begins with the extraction of petroleum and natural gas, which are processed into purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG). Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) results revealed that the production of PTA and the use of MEG for polymerization are the most significant contributors—excluding freshwater ecotoxicity—across all impact categories and all five examined virgin PET products. Energy consumption (electricity and heat) represents the second largest environmental burden. Freshwater ecotoxicity is primarily driven by the production of non-polymerization chemical additives.
The manufacturing process consists of several steps: esterification and polycondensation utilizing water, electricity, heat, and steam. This is followed by the extrusion and spinning of the PET melt, quenching, partial drawing, crimping, and cutting. Throughout these processes, there is a continuous generation of wastewater and solid waste.
Chemical Recycling: Opportunities and Current Barriers
Chemical recycling can be applied to both post-industrial and post-consumer textile waste, with its greatest advantage being the ability to remove chemical additives and dyes. The process involves the pretreatment of textile waste (shredding and cleaning), followed by depolymerization, purification, repolymerization, and pelletizing.
However, due to the additional challenges associated with sorting and cleaning post-consumer waste, most chemical recyclers currently focus on post-industrial waste. Its homogeneous nature facilitates collection and recycling, avoiding difficult-to-sort textile blends. For commercially operating chemical recyclers, energy consumption and chemical use are the two primary drivers of environmental impact, followed by waste feedstock collection and waste treatment.
Thermomechanical Recycling and Quality Constraints
Thermomechanical recycling is mainly used to recycle post-consumer PET bottles into textiles. The technology requires a largely homogeneous, high-quality waste input, as the removal of contaminants or additives within the PET is not possible in this process. Consequently, PET waste can only be recycled a limited number of times before the material degrades too much for further mechanical processing.
The technological chain includes bottle cleaning, shredding, hot washing, flake extrusion, batch blending, and melt spinning. Electricity use contributes significantly to the impacts, and in the case of long transport distances, the ecological weight of feedstock collection also becomes dominant. For this technology, freshwater ecotoxicity is almost exclusively caused by surfactant cleaning agents.
Social Impacts and Data Limitations in the LCA+ Model
Textile Exchange’s LCA+ approach also includes a social assessment that examines human rights impacts associated with polyester production. The results indicate that the production of both virgin and recycled polyester can have severe human rights impacts, including harassment, violence, and abuse. Because recycling supply chains are often informal and poorly regulated, this presents serious potential hazards, but also opportunities for developing meaningful solutions.
The study also pointed out data limitations: Ecoinvent v3.11 datasets were used, which are not perfect matches for actual operations. There is a lack of precise data on upstream waste collection distances and the specific solvents and surfactants used by recyclers.
Conclusions
The research represents a significant step forward in the documentation and transparency of polyester LCA data; however, the results remain sensitive to assumptions and context. The study cautions against making simplistic rankings based on the data. It highlights the importance of improving traceability, sorting, and collection, as well as the necessity of collective action (e.g., using renewable energy, better sorting technologies, reducing truck transport) to mitigate environmental impacts. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of considering the trade-offs between chemical and thermomechanical recycling methods, as both have their own advantages and limitations.
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