Recycled Polyester Clothing: Why It Is Not a Sustainable Solution

Recycled polyester is often presented as a more sustainable alternative to virgin polyester. It can reduce demand for new fossil feedstocks and lower some production impacts, but it does not solve the structural problems created by fashion’s dependence on synthetic plastic fibres.

What is recycled polyester?

Recycled polyester (rPET) is made from plastic waste, often PET bottles, which is processed and re-extruded into new textile fibres. The material remains a plastic polymer.

From bottles to textiles: limited circularity

Using PET bottles as textile feedstock can give plastic another use. At the same time, it can move material out of bottle-to-bottle recycling systems into a textile stream where recycling again is often more difficult, especially once fabrics contain blends, dyes, finishes and trims. Textile Exchange therefore highlights the importance of scaling textile-to-textile recycling rather than relying mainly on bottles as feedstock.

Recycled does not yet mean circular

Textile Exchange’s 2025 market data illustrates the scale of the problem. Polyester represented around 59% of global fibre production in 2024, and 88% of it was still fossil-based. Recycled polyester accounted for only around 12% of the polyester market, while 98% of recycled polyester was still made primarily from plastic bottles. Across all fibres, textile-to-textile recycling remained below 1% of the global fibre market. In other words, most “recycled polyester” still does not come from old polyester clothing being turned into new polyester clothing.

This matters because bottle-based recycling does not close the textile loop. Textile Exchange explicitly notes that bottles can currently be recycled more easily into new bottles than bottle-derived textiles can be recycled again into new textiles. Turning a bottle into a garment can therefore give the plastic another use without creating a genuinely closed textile cycle.

The microfibre issue remains — and can worsen after repeated recycling

Recycled polyester is still a plastic fibre and can release synthetic microfibres during manufacturing, use and washing. Research does not support a universal claim that recycled polyester always releases more or always releases less than virgin polyester. A 2024 study in Resources, Conservation & Recycling found no statistically significant difference between paired virgin and mechanically recycled polyester fabrics, while fabric structure strongly influenced release. Another 2024 study in Environmental Pollution measured higher release from recycled polyester under its test conditions.

More importantly for circularity, a 2026 study in Environmental Science & Technology found no clear laundering difference after one mechanical recycling cycle, but fabrics containing polyester recycled twice released about 4.3 times more microplastic fibres than virgin polyester, and those recycled three times released about 6.2 times more. The researchers linked this increase to cumulative fibre fragmentation and structural degradation. This does not mean every recycled polyester fabric will behave identically, but it demonstrates that repeated mechanical recycling can create a real trade-off between circularity and microfibre pollution.

Less virgin fossil feedstock, but still plastic

One potential advantage of rPET is that it can reduce the need for new petrochemical feedstock. Textile Exchange’s 2026 polyester life-cycle assessment identifies reducing reliance on virgin fossil-based inputs as an important lever for impact reduction. That advantage should not be confused with eliminating the impacts of polyester itself: the finished textile remains plastic, and its overall footprint still depends on the recycling technology, energy source, transport, durability and end-of-life pathway.

Recycling itself also has environmental costs

The 2026 Textile Exchange LCA shows that recycled polyester is not impact-free. For thermomechanical recycling, electricity use, waste collection and transport can be major environmental hotspots. For chemical recycling, energy demand and the use of processing chemicals — including solvents such as methanol in some systems — can become significant contributors. The environmental result therefore depends strongly on how and where the recycling is performed.

Avoiding greenwashing

The claim “made from recycled plastic bottles” describes only one part of a garment’s environmental profile. It does not tell us whether the textile can be recycled again, how much microfibre it may release, how long the garment will last, how much energy was required to make it, or what will happen at the end of its life.

Presenting recycled polyester as a complete sustainability solution can therefore obscure a more fundamental question: should fashion continue increasing its dependence on plastic fibres, even when part of the feedstock is recycled?

ERVERTE’s approach: reduce plastic dependence, not simply recycle it

For ERVERTE, going further means avoiding plastic fibres where natural fibres are suitable for the product, designing garments for long-term use and limiting unnecessary production. Recycling existing synthetic waste can be useful, but it should not become a justification for continued growth in polyester consumption.

Recycled natural fibres and circularity

For ERVERTE, circularity is not simply about increasing the percentage of recycled content. It is about preserving the value of existing materials, keeping them in use for as long as possible and reducing the need to extract new resources. In textiles, the most coherent form of recycling is therefore one that helps move waste back into a textile use while maintaining enough quality for a durable product.

Natural fibres such as cotton can also enter this circular pathway. Mechanically recycled cotton can be recovered from textile waste and processed into new fibre. Unlike recycled polyester, the resulting fibre remains cellulose-based rather than plastic-based. It therefore does not perpetuate dependence on a synthetic polymer, although recycling still has its own energy, transport and processing impacts.

Recent research suggests that recycled cotton can reduce demand for virgin cotton and can deliver environmental benefits in several impact categories, while also showing why simplistic comparisons should be avoided. Textile Exchange’s 2026 cotton LCA identifies electricity use and transport as key drivers of recycled-cotton impacts, and a 2026 systematic review found that results depend strongly on system boundaries and methodological assumptions.

There is also a technical limit to circularity. Mechanical recycling can shorten cotton fibres, which can reduce their spinning performance and strength. Blending recycled cotton with longer cotton fibres can therefore be a practical way to preserve material value while maintaining the durability expected from the finished product. For ERVERTE, circularity only makes sense when the recycled material contributes to an object designed to be used for a long time.

This principle is reflected in L’Essentiel Belt Bag. Made in France from 50% recycled cotton and 50% cotton, it uses recycled natural fibre without introducing polyester into the textile composition. The objective is not to present recycled cotton as impact-free, but to combine existing material, durability and local manufacturing in a more circular approach to an everyday accessory.

Conclusion

Recycled polyester can offer advantages compared with virgin polyester, particularly by reducing demand for new fossil feedstocks. But the wider evidence shows why it should not be treated as a complete sustainable solution. Most recycled polyester still comes from bottles rather than old textiles, textile-to-textile recycling remains marginal, the material remains plastic, and repeated mechanical recycling can substantially increase microfibre shedding in some fabrics.

Recycled natural fibres offer a different pathway. They can help keep textile material in use without preserving a plastic polymer, but their value still depends on how they are recycled, where the energy comes from, how the fibres are combined and how long the final product lasts. For ERVERTE, circularity therefore means using recycled material where it makes sense, preserving product quality and reducing reliance on plastic rather than treating “recycled” as an end in itself.

Sources

• Resources, Conservation & Recycling (2024) — virgin vs. recycled polyester microfibre release
• Environmental Pollution (2024) — microplastic fibre release during household washing
• Environmental Science & Technology (2026) — repeated mechanical recycling and microfibre emissions
• Textile Exchange (2026) — Polyester Life Cycle Assessment
• Textile Exchange (2026) — Cotton Life Cycle Assessment
• Procedia CIRP (2026) — systematic review of cotton waste recycling LCA
• Textile Exchange — Circularity
• Textile Exchange (2025) — Materials Market Report
• Textile Exchange — The Future of Synthetics

Continue exploring: compare recycled polyester with conventional polyester, read why ERVERTE prioritises natural fibres, or discover L’Essentiel, ERVERTE’s recycled-cotton belt bag made in France.