A major industry collaboration led by Fashion for Good aims to address one of fashion’s most persistent sustainability challenges — recycling stretch fabrics — by accelerating development of bio‑based and recycled elastane materials, stakeholders said.
The initiative, known as Stretching Circularity, brings together global brands and innovators to pilot alternatives to conventional fossil‑based elastane — a stretch fiber present in roughly 80 % of clothing that blocks textile recycling processes when blended with other fibers.
Paradise Textiles, the material science and innovation arm of Alpine Group, will play a central role in validating next‑generation elastane solutions that are compatible with circular systems.
“Elastane in even small percentages acts as a contaminant in recycling streams, undermining fibre‑to‑fibre recycling for high‑volume materials such as polyester and cotton,” said industry experts – a core challenge the project seeks to overcome.
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The consortium includes partners such as Levi Strauss & Co (Beyond Yoga), On, Positive Materials and Reformation, with Ralph Lauren Corporation advising and ecosystem support from Materiom and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Together, they will generate pilot‑scale data on performance, environmental impact, economic feasibility and scalability of lower‑impact stretch fibers.
Two main workstreams are underway: testing bio‑based elastane alternatives derived from alternative feedstocks and evaluating regenerated elastane produced through emerging recycling technologies. The project will produce demonstrator garments, including T‑shirts with varying elastane content, to gather real‑world performance insights.
Industry observers say the initiative could unlock broader circularity gains in fashion by turning a technical barrier — stretch fiber contamination — into a pathway for more recyclable apparel.
Participants also hope shared data and validation frameworks will de‑risk adoption of new materials across global supply chains.
