Plastic pollution has become a global environmental crisis. According to statistics, the world produces about 300 million tons of plastic waste each year, of which only 9% is recycled. Polyester fiber (Polyester), as the main synthetic fiber raw material in the textile industry (accounting for 52% of the global fiber market), is highly dependent on oil for production, consuming about 342 million barrels of crude oil each year. In this context, recycled polyester yarn (rPET) is claimed by many brands as an "environmentally friendly solution", but can it really effectively reduce plastic pollution?
1. The environmental value of recycled polyester yarn
Recycled polyester yarn is mainly made by recycling discarded PET plastic bottles (accounting for 78% of the raw material source) or old textiles (accounting for 22%). According to the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, compared with traditional polyester, the production of 1 ton of rPET can reduce:
Crude oil consumption: 1.8 tons
Carbon emissions: 32% reduction (from 3.8 tons of CO₂ to 2.6 tons of CO₂)
Energy consumption: 50% reduction (due to skipping the oil refining process)
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an international circular economy organization, pointed out that if the global textile industry increases the use of rPET to 20%, 1.5 million tons of plastic waste can be reduced from entering the natural environment each year. Typical cases include:
Adidas: 60% of the polyester fibers in its products in 2022 will come from recycled plastic bottles, equivalent to consuming 50 million discarded bottles;
Patagonia: Through a closed-loop recycling system, old clothes are converted into new yarns, reducing carbon footprint by 92%.
2. Real challenges and technical bottlenecks
Although rPET has environmental protection potential, the actual effect is constrained by multiple factors:
Recycling rate ceiling
The global PET bottle recycling rate is only 30%, and the backward sorting technology leads to insufficient purity of recycled raw materials. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the United States found that the production of rPET requires the addition of 30%-50% virgin plastic to maintain yarn strength, which weakens the plastic reduction effect.
Microplastic pollution is not solved
A 2017 study by the University of California confirmed that the amount of microplastics released by recycled polyester clothing during washing (an average of 1,900 fibers per piece of clothing) was not significantly different from that of virgin polyester. These microfibers eventually enter the ocean, threatening the ecosystem.
Controversy over chemical recycling
Although emerging chemical recycling methods (such as depolymerization) can handle mixed plastics, a 2020 study by Nature Sustainability pointed out that its energy consumption is three times that of mechanical recycling and may produce toxic byproducts such as dioxins.
3. Breakthrough Paths and Industry Trends
To truly realize the plastic reduction value of rPET, a systematic solution is needed:
Technology upgrade
Molecular-level sorting: VolCat catalytic technology developed by IBM can decompose mixed plastics into monomers with a purity of 99%;
Biological enzymatic hydrolysis: French Carbios uses engineered enzymes to decompose PET, with a recycling efficiency of 97%.
Policy-driven
The EU's Circular Economy Action Plan stipulates that by 2030, all textiles must contain 30% recycled materials, and carbon taxes will be imposed on companies that fail to meet the standards. China's "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Circular Economy" also clearly requires that the proportion of recycled fibers be increased to 25%.
Reshaping consumer behavior
A McKinsey survey shows that 67% of Generation Z are willing to pay a premium for products containing recycled materials, but they need to be wary of "greenwashing". The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is developing the "rPET Traceability Certification Standard" to prevent false environmental protection propaganda.
4. Conclusion: Plastic reduction requires a systematic revolution
Recycled polyester yarn is not the "ultimate answer", but a link in the chain of plastic pollution control. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) model, only when rPET is combined with the following measures can a significant plastic reduction effect be achieved:
Reducing the production of virgin plastics (needs to be reduced by 4.3%/year)
Increasing the recycling rate to more than 60%
Developing biodegradable bio-based polyester (such as PHBH fiber from Toray of Japan)
Plastic pollution is essentially the failure of the linear economic model, and the real value of recycled polyester lies in promoting the textile industry from "mining-manufacturing-waste" to a circular system. Only when technological innovation, policy supervision and consumer awareness evolve together can rPET fulfill its environmental protection promise.