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Textile Exchange’s Recycled Polyester (rPET) Round Table is a global multi-stakeholder network aiming to increase the uptake of recycled polyester by providing a forum for members to safely express and discuss challenges, compare experiences, and hear about latest news and technologies from leading thinkers.
The rPET Round Table is chaired by Elayne Masterson of World Textile Sourcing, and currently has over 120 individual members from 73 companies/organizations. Approximately half of members are brands/retailers, a quarter are suppliers, and the remaining represent other sectors such as non-profits, certification bodies, or academia.
Members meet virtually every month, and in-person once every year for the annual Recycled Polyester Round Table Summit, held alongside Textile Exchange’s annual Textile Sustainability Conference. A new online home for the rPET Round Table was launched at the start of 2020 in Textile Exchange’s membership portal, the Hub.
Polyester is a manmade fiber, synthesized from petrochemical products by a process called polymerization. Accounting for 52% of global fiber production in 2018, polyester is the most widely used fiber in the apparel sector: more than 55.1 million MT of polyester was produced in 2018 alone (source: Textile Exchange’s Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report). Production of polyester fabric involves significant quantities of chemicals, raw materials and by-products that are toxic and can pollute water and air and cause health issues.
Recycled polyester is promoted by Textile Exchange as a preferred alternative to virgin polyester. It can be either mechanically or chemically recycled, with feedstock consisting of either pre- or post-consumer waste that can no longer be used for its intended purpose, including the return of materials from the distribution chain.
There remains much to be done to reach economies of scale for recycled polyester; challenges are still to be overcome in the factory, the marketplace, and in communities where recycling and bring-back schemes need to be improved. Textile Exchange’s Recycled Polyester Round Table works to find solutions to the technical, societal, and commercial barriers to growth of recycled polyester’s market share.
Replace the use of virgin PET with rPET
Create price parity based on product performance, quality and sustainable profiles
Increase rPET availability
Improve education around rPET and circularity
Membership of the Recycled Polyester Round Table is not exclusive to Textile Exchange members. If you are interested in joining this Round Table, please contact Materials@TextileExchange.org.
Over 150 attendees joined and contributed to our 2020 Recycled Polyester (rPET) Round Table Summit including representatives from brands, retailers, suppliers, non-profits, innovators, researchers, and recycling experts.
The 2019 Recycled Polyester (rPET) Round Table Summit took place in Vancouver on October 15 during Textile Exchange’s 2019 Textile Sustainability Conference and was our biggest yet, with almost 200 participants in attendance. The afternoon was packed with unique insights from industry experts into the most topical issues facing the sector right now. Attendees dug deeper and put speakers to the test by asking some very thought-provoking questions.
Thank you to ESTS Global for being a Contributor level sponsor of the 2019 rPET Round Table.
Thanks to the 2019 conference sponsors supporting this Round Table:
Elayne Masterson, Contributing Partner | Fabrikology International
Janel Twogood, Senior Design Director | Samsonite
Sophie Mather, Material Futurist | biov8tion Ltd
Yukari Ishizu, Senior Manager | Jeplan Inc.
Holli Alexander, Strategic Initiatives Manager | Eastman
Peter Majeranowski, CEO | Tyton Biosciences
Ashley Gill, Senior Manager of Industry Integrity | Textile Exchange
Karla Magruder, Founder | Fabrikology International
Traci Kinden, President | REvolve Waste
Mauro Scalia, Director Sustainable Businesses | Euratex
Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director & Joanne Brasch, Special Projects Manager | US National Stewardship Action Council
Elayne Masterson, Contributing Partner | Fabrikology International
More than 100 stakeholders with different expertise and backgrounds including suppliers, brands and researchers participated in the Recycled Polyester Round Table Summit at Textile Exchange’s Textile Sustainability Conference in Milan on October 22, 2018, which was kindly sponsored by NSF. The meeting was hosted by Fabrikology’s Karla Magruder, previous Chair of Textile Exchange’s rPET Round Table (since succeeded by Fabrikology’s Elayne Masterson), with support from Sevilla Granger of Textile Exchange.
Thank you to NSF for being a Partner level sponsor of the 2018 rPET Round Table.
Susan Mair and Matt Tudball of ICIS presented some of the latest figures:
Maurizio Crippa, CEO of Gr3n, presented on rPET in bottles:
Maurizio Crippa, CEO of Gr3n, presented on rPET in bottles:
Legislation
Quality
Brands & Retailers
Consumer Awareness
Textile Exchange wants to thank again our 2018 rPET Round Table sponsor NSF, as well as all participants.
We very much look forward to continuing these discussions.