An innovative and waterfree process for elastane removal in post-consumer blended textile waste

Purpose and goal

Elastane, widely used in garments for stretch and comfort, creates a major barrier to recycling due to its polyurethane structure. Even at low concentrations of 2-10%, elastane causes machinery issues, contaminates and degrades fiber quality which is making valuable textile like cotton not recyclable. This project aims to develop and optimise a waterless process for selectively removing elastane from post-consumer cotton textile waste to enable high-quality textile-to-textile recycling.

Expected effects and result

The project enables the recycling of cotton textiles containing elastane and creates value across the entire value chain. It increases the amount of recyclable textile waste, reduces landfill and incineration, and improves fiber quality and machine performance. For brands, it supports EU requirements on producer responsibility and design, while society benefits from reduced emissions and a strengthened textile recycling industry in Europe.

Planned approach and implementation

The project is carried out in stages, involving the collection and characterization of textiles from both pre- and post-consumer streams. The materials are analyzed for fiber content and elastane levels using advanced methods in collaboration with external laboratories. Suitable agents for elastane removal are selected based on previous research and in-house tests to optimize the process.