#Sustainability

2024-04-18

Textile Exchange releases "The Future of Synthetics" report

In a new report released by Textile Exchange, titled "The Future of Synthetics," the fashion, apparel, and textile industry are called upon to swiftly transition away from new fossil fuel extraction for synthetic materials. The report provides essential guidance for brands seeking to make this critical shift.

Recognizing the urgent need to curb greenhouse gas emissions associated with synthetic fibers, Textile Exchange's "The Future of Synthetics" stresses the necessity for the industry to halt the introduction of new virgin fossil fuel-derived materials into the supply chain. This strategic move is deemed indispensable to meeting climate targets and mitigating environmental impact.

"At the heart of this report is the advocacy for accelerated interest and investment in technologies facilitating the rapid substitution of fossil fuel-derived synthetics," remarked a spokesperson for Textile Exchange on its website. "By making viable alternatives readily available, the industry can realistically divest, thereby unlocking significant emissions reduction potential."

"With this report, we are advocating for increased interest and investment into the technologies that will facilitate the rapid substitution of fossil fuel-derived synthetics," a spokesperson for Textile Exchange remarked on its website. "A core recognition is that having viable alternatives available will enable the industry to realistically divest, unlocking this critical emissions reduction opportunity."

The report delves into various technologies and infrastructure pivotal to this transition, including textile-to-textile recycling, biosynthetics, and carbon capture. It highlights the dominance of synthetic materials in global fiber production, with polyester alone contributing a staggering amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

While emphasizing the importance of transitioning towards sustainable alternatives, the report also acknowledges the need to balance this shift with considerations for natural ecosystems. It advocates for a dual approach: investing in alternative methods of creating synthetic materials while simultaneously reducing the overall volume of new materials produced.

Mechanical recycling of PET plastic bottles currently stands as the most prevalent alternative to virgin polyester. However, the industry is urged to prioritize scaling textile-to-textile recycling technologies to establish a truly closed-loop system. Additionally, the report explores emerging opportunities in biosynthetics and carbon capture technologies, underscoring their potential to facilitate divestment from fossil fuel extraction.

For access to the full report and key takeaways, please visit :

http://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2024/04/The-Future-of-Synthetics.pdf

Textile Exchange unveils agenda for 2026 conference in Vancouver

Textile Exchange has released the agenda for its 2026 Conference, which will take place from October 12–16 in Vancouver, Canada. Under the theme “The Implementation Era,” the event will focus on translating sustainability commitments into practical action and scaling solutions across businesses, supply systems, and landscapes.

Textile Exchange publishes comprehensive polyester LCA study

Textile Exchange has released a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study on polyester, providing detailed data on the environmental impacts of both virgin and recycled polyester production. The study aims to strengthen understanding across the fashion, textile and apparel industries and support more informed decision-making regarding polyester sourcing and production.

Textile Exchange publishes cotton Life Cycle Assessment study to strengthen impact data

Textile Exchange has published the first in a series of seven Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies designed to improve the quality and robustness of environmental impact data for raw material production across the fashion, textile, and apparel industry. The first LCA study focuses on cotton and addresses critical data gaps and methodology variability through new high-quality data across key producing countries. The study includes organic, regenerative, recycled, and country averages for conventional cotton production systems, providing a clearer picture of the associated environmental impact.

DyStar releases FY2025 sustainability report, marking a new milestone towards its 2030 targets

DyStar, a leading specialty chemicals company with more than a century of expertise in product development and innovation, today announced the release of its FY2025 Sustainability Report, marking a significant milestone in its sustainability journey and reinforcing its commitment to long-term value creation.

Renewables lower energy prices and play key role to reduce vulnerability to fossil fuel supply shocks

Renewables lower energy prices and play key role to reduce vulnerability to fossil fuel supply shocks Boosting the use of homegrown renewable electricity is Europe’s best way to reduce its vulnerability to volatile international energy supplies and rising energy prices according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment published today.

Katharina Obergruber appointed to the Management Board of Sandler AG

The Supervisory Board of Sandler AG has appointed Katharina Obergruber to the company’s Management Board. Effective September 1, 2026, the Board will consist of Philipp Ebbinghaus (CEO), Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck (currently CCO, future COO), and Katharina Obergruber (CCO). Katharina Obergruber, currently Chief Sales Officer Hygiene and member of the Management Team of Sandler AG, will assume responsibility for all sales activities as Chief Commercial Officer. She will assume this role from Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck, who will focus primarily on production and supply chain topics.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.