Spinning Greenwash: How the fashion industry’s shift to recycled polyester is worsening microplastic pollution

The report finds that recycled polyester releases significantly more microfibers than virgin polyester, contradicting industry claims of sustainability and highlighting the risks of 'bottle-to-textile' downcycling.

• Recycled polyester releases a higher quantity of microfibers compared to virgin polyester. Laboratory tests showed recycled polyester released an average of approximately 12,000 fibers per gram, which is 54.8% more than the 8,028 fibers per gram released by virgin polyester.
• Microfibers from recycled polyester are smaller on average (0.42 mm) than those from virgin polyester (0.52 mm). These smaller particles are considered to pose a greater risk to human health and the environment because they can penetrate deeper into tissues and lungs and are more easily absorbed by soil and water organisms.
• Recycled polyester also exhibits a higher mass loss than virgin polyester, with a loss of 0.36 mg/g compared to 0.24 mg/g, representing a 50% increase in mass loss.
• The 'bottle-to-textile' process, where 98% of recycled polyester is sourced from plastic bottles, is described as downcycling. This process removes bottles from closed-loop recycling systems and creates garments that release microplastics and are not effectively recyclable, often ending up in landfills or incinerators.
• Among the tested brands, Nike exhibited the highest microfiber release for both virgin and recycled polyester. Nike's recycled polyester released an average of 30,772 fibers/g, which is approximately 16% more than Adidas and seven times more than Zara.
• While virgin cotton releases heavier and longer fibers (1.85 mg/g) than synthetic fibers, these are considered to pose a lower health risk as they are less likely to reach the lower respiratory tract.

APA

Trunk, U., Urbancic, N., Gündoğdu, S., & Özkan, İ. (2025). Spinning Greenwash: How the fashion industry’s shift to recycled polyester is worsening microplastic pollution. Changing Markets Foundation. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DE_Spinning-Greenwash_executive-summary.pdf

Chicago

Trunk, Urska, Nusa Urbancic, Sedat Gündoğdu, and İlkan Özkan. Spinning Greenwash: How the fashion industry’s shift to recycled polyester is worsening microplastic pollution. Changing Markets Foundation, 2025. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DE_Spinning-Greenwash_executive-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Trunk |first1=Urska |last2=Urbancic |first2=Nusa |last3=Gündoğdu |first3=Sedat |last4=Özkan |first4=İlkan |title=Spinning Greenwash: How the fashion industry’s shift to recycled polyester is worsening microplastic pollution |publisher=Changing Markets Foundation |date=December 2025 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DE_Spinning-Greenwash_executive-summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trunk2025spinning, author = {Trunk, Urska and Urbancic, Nusa and Gündoğdu, Sedat and Özkan, İlkan}, title = {{Spinning Greenwash: How the fashion industry’s shift to recycled polyester is worsening microplastic pollution}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DE_Spinning-Greenwash_executive-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }