Textile recycling’s next test is not another technology breakthrough, but whether the industry can secure feedstock, find buyers and pay its way.  

Ecotextile News’ December 2026 issue examines the commercial realities behind circularity’s promises. 

Textile recyclers face a widening gap between ambitious capacity announcements and the conditions needed to turn waste into commercially viable fibres.  

In its forthcoming December issue, Ecotextile News investigates what that means for businesses seeking to build circular supply chains. 

Leading the coverage is a detailed examination of Syre’s proposed US$1 billion polyester recycling project in Vietnam, where feedstock restrictions and financing challenges are forcing a reassessment of production plans. 

The Swedish company tells Ecotextile News it is reconsidering volumes and has yet to secure a legally binding route to importing textile waste. A final investment decision remains outstanding. Its reporting unpicks apparently conflicting capacity figures, distinguishes waste inputs from recycled polyester output, and examines why a smaller operation using only domestic feedstock may not offer an economically viable starting point. 

The wider demand problem comes into focus through reporting from the Textile Exchange conference in Vancouver. Industry leaders argue that brands must help establish recycling supply chains rather than wait for commercially mature systems to emerge. 

“Whenever we sort for recycling, we’re actively losing money,” says Erik Lagerblad, chief executive of Looper Textile Co. His warning sharpens the debate over how extended producer responsibility fees should support sorting, and why demand for existing recycling technologies matters alongside investment in new processes. 

Forecasts suggest textile-to-textile recycling could supply three to five million tonnes of spinnable fibre by 2030. But projected capacity is not guaranteed output: feedstock composition, processing losses and underused facilities all complicate the picture. 

Chemistry presents another challenge. We examine ZDHC’s plans to make chemical management a foundation for circularity, starting with post-industrial textile and leather waste. 

The reporting explores legacy substances, including PFAS, and “recycling disruptors”: chemicals that can interfere with recycling processes even when they are not restricted under ZDHC’s manufacturing restricted substances list. 

It also asks how much chemical information suppliers can realistically share without exposing commercially sensitive production recipes. 

Elsewhere, we examine the safeguards needed as artificial intelligence enters sustainability reporting and supply-chain data systems. Traceable evidence, human review and clear distinctions between estimated and verified information are central concerns. 

For Textile Recycling Exhibition visitors, the latest issue connects technology with the less glamorous questions that determine whether projects progress: who supplies the waste, who buys the fibre, who carries the risk and who pays. 

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