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The World Is in a Polyester Crisis. One Company Is Trying to Recycle a Way Out

Wired
Summary
Nutrition label

67% Informative

European company Reju may have developed the polyester recycling technology the textile industry needs.

Reju’s chemical recycling process strips out contaminants and yields a pure monomer.

Just 0.3 percent of materials used in fashion are from recycled sources, it's pretty much all water bottles.

Reju's chemical recycling process emits half the greenhouse gases of virgin polyester production.

Reju claims its recycling system isn't zero -waste; it doesn't create a waste byproduct, save for the dyes and finishes that came with the used polyester.

It's just one project in a portfolio of “sustainable chemistry” projects by its mother company, Technip Energies.

According to a 2024 study, 28 percent of post-consumer garments in the US were primarily polyester.

Reju is attempting to market its purified polyester to brands, who will then direct their favored polyester mills to purchase the recycled PET pellets.

Currently, used clothing is hand-sorted by humans, a laborious and expensive process that pushes the cost of used clothing, even if it’s donated.

VR Score

48

Informative language

35

Neutral language

32

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

52

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

medium-lived

External references

21

https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/unifi-to-close-madison-north-carolina-manufacturing-facility/https://www.nouvellesfibrestextiles.com/fr/home-francais/https://www.goodwill.org/press-releases/goodwill-and-reju-announce-plans-to-help-advance-textile-recycling-in-north-america-in-collaboration-with-wm/https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/technip-energies-lanzatech-secure-20m-for-carbon-recycling-93CH-3780153https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/18122024/cansolv-co-capture-system-poised-for-another-deployment-by-shell-and-alliance-partner-technip-energies/https://www.ekwil.com/news/ekwil-dedicated-to-floating-offshore-wind/https://sourcingjournal.com/sustainability/sustainability-news/carbios-puts-brakes-on-new-recycling-plant-france-pet-1234728218/#recipient_hashed=d5383de5fca815863d82119b8d583d420404c7f14dac95fa37d7cd37ffae7084&recipient_salt=6563f5d13c614bfe187bc9245afce622749a881d11dbf21a95ff70498f4f1eb1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=dailynews&utm_content=574963_12-20-2024&utm_term=4186414https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-04-12/sweden-s-renewcell-aimed-to-make-fashion-more-sustainable-why-did-it-failhttps://news.oilandgaswatch.org/post/plastics-boom-brings-flood-of-new-ethylene-cracker-chemical-plants-despite-frequent-environmental-violationshttps://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-regrets-inconclusive-global-plastics-treaty-2024-12-02_enhttps://www.circle-economy.com/news/just-0-3-of-materials-used-by-the-global-textile-industry-come-from-recycled-sources-with-almost-no-textile-to-textile-recyclinghttps://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i51/Technip-Buys-Zimmer-Polymer-Know.htmlhttps://www.greenindustryplatform.org/research/sorting-circularity-usa-commercial-assessment-fibre-fibre-recycling-ushttps://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240301-international-second-hand-clothing-market-profitablehttps://www.ecotextile.com/2025020454169/news/environment/reju-signs-feedstock-deal-with-cibutex/https://www.reju.com/https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/fast-fashion-ghana-clothes-waste-b2132399.htmlhttps://textileexchange.org/knowledge-center/reports/materials-market-report-2024/https://www.offshore-energy.biz/technipfmc-and-technip-energies-set-off-as-independent-entities/https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/despite-climate-pledges-fashion-brands-way-off-track-cutting-carbon-catwalk-2023-07-31/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/03/coca-cola-accused-dropping-reusable-packaging-target

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