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Sustainability & Recycling

Textile Exchange Study Sheds New Light On Polyester's Environmental Footprint

• By  Textile Excellence
• June 15, 2026

Polyester is the world's most widely used textile fibre. Yet, despite its dominance, there are still major gaps in understanding its true environmental impact. Textile Exchange hopes to change that.

The organisation has released a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study aimed at giving the fashion, textile and apparel industry more accurate and credible data on how different types of polyester production affect the environment.

The report is the second in a series of LCA studies by Textile Exchange and follows the publication of its cotton study earlier this year.

One of the study's most significant contributions is what Textile Exchange believes to be the first publicly available data on the environmental impacts of virgin PET production in Southeast Asia. This is particularly important because the region accounts for more than half of global virgin PET production.

The study also provides updated insights into both thermomechanical and chemical recycling technologies and identifies the stages where the greatest environmental impacts occur.

Unlike conventional LCAs, Textile Exchange adopts an "LCA+" approach. In addition to environmental indicators, it also examines human rights issues linked to polyester production.

Beth Jensen, Chief Impact Officer at Textile Exchange, said the findings address long-standing data gaps and provide a stronger foundation for informed decision-making.

"This study advances our understanding of polyester production and identifies the major impact hotspots where action is most needed," she said.

Where are the biggest impact hotspots?

The study found that the way polyester is produced has a major influence on its environmental footprint.

For virgin polyester, the biggest impacts come from producing the petrochemicals used as raw materials, particularly monoethylene glycol (MEG), purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and dimethyl terephthalate (DMT). The sources of electricity and heat used during production also play a significant role.

For thermomechanical recycling, two areas stood out:

• Electricity consumption
• Collection and transport of waste materials, especially over long distances

For chemical recycling, the largest impacts were linked to:

• Energy used for electricity and heat
• Input chemicals and solvents, including methanol

Adam Gardiner, Recycled Lead at Textile Exchange, noted that textile-to-textile recycling technologies are attracting growing investment and industry interest. He said the study offers brands and recyclers credible data while highlighting opportunities to reduce impacts further.

Human rights concerns emerge

The report goes beyond environmental metrics.

Its social assessment found that polyester production can be associated with unsafe working conditions, labour rights violations and gender-based violence. It also highlighted concerns related to oil and gas extraction, including violence against local communities and health impacts caused by pollution and accidental spills.

In recycling systems, both PET bottle collection and textile waste collection often operate within informal and poorly regulated networks, creating additional social risks.

At the same time, Textile Exchange believes textile-to-textile recycling presents an important opportunity to tackle the growing global textile waste crisis.

Key takeaways for the industry

The study points to several actions companies can take:

• Reduce dependence on virgin fossil-based inputs.
• Increase the use of renewable energy.
• Source waste materials closer to recycling facilities to cut transport emissions.
• Invest in post-consumer collection and sorting systems.
• Build the infrastructure needed to scale recycling technologies.
• Improve traceability by mapping polyester supply chains back to their origins.

Textile Exchange said the data will be submitted to industry databases to improve accessibility and support companies that lack source-specific information.

However, the organisation cautioned against making direct comparisons between different LCA studies, regions or production systems. Results can vary depending on methodologies, assumptions and system boundaries.

Ultimately, the message from the report is clear: understanding polyester's impacts requires looking beyond a single number. Better data, combined with attention to both environmental and social issues, will be critical if the industry is to make meaningful progress towards lower-impact production systems.

Adam Gardiner, Recycled Lead at Textile Exchange, noted that textile-to-textile recycling technologies are attracting growing investment and industry interest. He said the study offers brands and recyclers credible data while highlighting opportunities to reduce impacts further.