21.03.2025

Textile Recycling: A Breakthrough in Circularity for Blended Materials

Aquafil has a long-standing history of innovation in the field of textile recycling and circularity. Since launching the ECONYL® Regeneration System in 2011, Aquafil has consistently developed technologies to transform complex waste into valuable raw materials, contributing to a more circular economy. For over 15 years, the company has recovered nylon from sources such as post-consumer carpets and discarded fishing nets, and other pre-consumer waste.

In 2025, Aquafil reached a new milestone in textile recycling with the launch of a demonstration plant designed to address one of the most persistent challenges in the industry: the chemical separation of elastic fibers from nylon in blended textile waste.

The challenge of Blended Textile Waste

A growing share of textile waste today consists of garments made with mixed fibers—particularly blends of nylon and elastane—commonly used in sportswear, swimwear, and performance apparel. These fiber combinations are notoriously difficult to recycle through mechanical means and present a barrier to effective textile recycling.

According to the European Parliament, in 2020 the textile sector ranked:

4th in terms of environmental and climate impact in the EU,
3rd for water and land use,
and 5th for raw material consumption.

Each year, around 11 kg of textile waste per person is discarded in the EU, while globally, less than 1% of textiles are recycled into new garments. The complexity of fiber blends is a major limiting factor for textile circularity, often leading to landfill or incineration. [Source: European Parliament, 2023 – “The environmental impact of textile production and waste”]

A long-term commitment to Textile Recycling Innovation

Aquafil’s journey toward a textile recycling solution spans more than a decade:

2013: Research began in collaboration with Georgia Tech University, leading to a first patent for a chemical separation process.
2022: A second patent was filed, based on an improved and more scalable methodology.
March 2025: A pilot-scale demonstration plant was inaugurated at Aquafil’s Slovenian facility to test the new technology under pre-industrial conditions.

From Fiber Separation to Regenerated Nylon: Evolving the ECONYL® System

The demonstration plant successfully validates lab research results: for the first time, it is now possible to chemically separate elastane from nylon in post-use textiles. This innovation marks a significant advancement in circularity in textiles, making previously unrecyclable materials recoverable.

This innovation integrates into the well-established ECONYL® Regeneration System, which has been operating successfully for over a decade. Designed to recover nylon from both pre- and post-consumer waste—such as carpets, fishing nets, and industrial plastics— the ECONYL® Regeneration System has proven its ability to give new life to materials once destined for landfill. The addition of chemically separated nylon from blended textiles represents the next natural step in this evolution and helps, once again, to alleviate the problem of textile pollution.

To scale up this innovation, Aquafil is working with a network of strategic partners to secure a stable flow of post-consumer textile waste and establish an efficient collection and recycling infrastructure. This initiative reinforces Aquafil’s role as a key player in the circular transformation of the textile industry.

By unlocking a new waste stream for regeneration, textile blends that were previously non-recyclable, this project represents a concrete step toward closing the loop in the textile chain— reinforcing Aquafil’s commitment to a circular future.