Fashion for Good has launched Stretching Circularity, a cross-industry initiative designed to address the fashion sector’s elastane recycling barrier, a long-standing obstacle to scaling textile-to-textile recycling. The programme brings together global brands and material innovators to test and validate lower-impact stretch fibre alternatives that can work within circular textile systems.
Elastane, also known as spandex or Lycra, is used in an estimated 80 percent of garments to provide comfort and flexibility. However, even small percentages blended into cotton, polyester or wool fabrics can disrupt mechanical and chemical recycling processes, limiting the ability to recycle garments back into new fibres and often leading to downcycling or landfill.
Stretching Circularity will focus on two parallel workstreams: assessing next-generation elastane derived from alternative and bio-based inputs, and evaluating regenerated elastane developed through emerging recycling technologies. Pilot-scale garment trials, including products with varying elastane content, are expected to generate performance, environmental and scalability data intended to support broader industry adoption.
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Participating companies include Levi Strauss & Co., Ralph Lauren Corporation as an advisor, Reformation and Paradise Textiles, alongside material innovator Positive Materials. The initiative is supported by ecosystem partners including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which advocates for circular economy solutions across industries.
Industry analysts say addressing elastane’s incompatibility with recycling systems is critical as brands face mounting regulatory and investor pressure to reduce textile waste and carbon emissions. By producing comparable data on durability, recyclability and environmental performance, the consortium aims to de-risk investment in sustainable stretch materials and accelerate the transition toward circular fashion supply chains.
