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AXENS, IFPEN and JEPLAN have completed the verification of a closed-loop recycling process for polyester fiber textiles.
ParisApril 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tens of thousands of tons of post-consumer textile waste rich in polyester fibers, sourced from Europe, were sorted and pre-treated in France, then successfully processed at the semi-industrial demonstration facility of AXENS, IFPEN and JEPLAN in Japan, producing the basic monomers for 100% recycled polyester fiber.
© JEPLAN
This achievement paves the way for closing the polyester fiber loop in the textile industry, particularly applicable to sportswear, home furnishings, and luxury goods.
- AXENS, IFPEN and JEPLAN announce the successful completion of a major industrial test for recycling post-consumer textile waste rich in polyester fibers (PET) using Rewind® PET technology. The test was conducted at a semi-industrial facility operated by JEPLAN in Japan, with an annual processing capacity of 1,000 tons.
- This large-scale validation processed dozens of tons of textiles from the French public recycling system, which were sorted and pre-treated by two French partners, Nouvelles Fibres Textile and Mapea. Dozens of tons of BHET, the basic monomer for polyester fiber, have been produced and will soon be converted into polyester yarn, fabric, and garments.
- This industrial “textile-to-textile” recycling test for several tons of post-consumer PET is one of the first of its kind completed under representative industrial conditions. The result paves the way for large-scale industrial chemical recycling of polyester fibers, providing stakeholders in the textile industry with the foundational components to integrate into a global strategy covering the entire value chain, promoting ongoing practices of reduction, reuse, and textile recycling.
A breakthrough innovation deployable in existing plants
This innovative process can be efficiently deployed at industrial sites worldwide that produce polyester for the textile industry, enabling the replacement of fossil-based raw materials with recycled alternatives.
Market and deployment model
This technology had previously been validated and commercialized for recycling all types of PET packaging, including food-contact grades. Its application in the textile sector has now also been validated. IFPEN/JEPLAN has granted AXENS an exclusive global license to provide this technology to any industrial player seeking to develop a local or regional “textile-to-textile” closed loop.
Driving the circular economy
Against the backdrop of rapidly growing textile waste volumes and still-limited “textile-to-textile” recycling, this semi-industrial test provides tangible evidence that circular production of polyester fibers can now be rapidly achieved on a larger scale from post-consumer waste streams.
Read the full press release here.