Celanese, Under Armour unveil recyclable fibre to replace elastane

Textile waste is a major source of pollution, with synthetic textiles in particular being a major source of microplastics pollution.

The European Union alone generates 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste per year. Clothing and footwear alone accounts for 5.2 million tonnes of waste, equivalent to 12 kg of waste per person every year. Currently, only 22% of post-consumer textile waste is collected separately for re-use or recycling, while the remainder is often incinerated or landfilled. The bloc will require member states to collect textiles separately from 2025, as part of an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme.

The plastics industry has recently started to give steps towards a circular economy for textiles. The Alliance of Chemical Textile Recycling (ACTR) was formed in September 2023. Companies like BASF and Carbios have developed technologies to recycle PA6 and PET fibres, respectively. Textiles with mixed fibres, however, are notably hard to recycle. Now, US-based materials company Celanese has developed a recyclable fibre to replace elastane in stretch fabrics.

Also known as spandex or lycra, elastane is virtually impossible to recycle when blended with other fabrics, as is usually the case in stretch fabrics. Elastane is so stretchy that it clogs the shredding machines used in conventional textile recycling.

Together with Under Armour, an athletic apparel brand, Celanese has launched Neolast, a fibre ‘designed to begin addressing sustainability challenges associated with elastane, including recyclability’, Celanese said in a statement.

The new fibres are produced using recyclable elastoester polymers. These thermoplastic polymers go through a solvent-free melt-extrusion process before being spun, which according to Celanese eliminates potentially hazardous chemicals typically used to create stretch fabrics made with elastane.

Celanese and Under Armour said they are ‘exploring’ the compatibility of stretch fabrics made with Neolast with ‘future recycling systems and infrastructure’.

In addition to potential sustainability benefits, the new fibres deliver increased production precision, allowing spinners to dial power-stretch levels up or down and engineer fibres to meet a broader array of fabric specifications, according to the companies.