As the highly anticipated 2024 Paris Olympics began, the Chinese delegation’s official uniform for victory ceremonies, aptly named the “Champion Dragon” uniform, has sparked widespread discussions among netizens due to its unique design and concept. It is reported that the uniform is made from eco-friendly materials such as recycled nylon and recycled polyester, achieving over 50% carbon reduction. This marks China’s first certified carbon-neutral official uniform of the Chinese Sports Delegation for Victory Ceremonies for Olympic Games.
Of particular significance is the fact that the nylon material used in the “Champion Dragon” uniform represents a vivid application of closed-loop recycling technology for nylon. In the global transition to circular economy, closed-loop recycling of nylon is increasingly gaining widespread attention as an essential link of textile recycling and contributing to the circular plastics economy. Through advanced technological means, the closed-loop nylon recycling system facilitates the collection, sorting, dismantling, cleaning, crushing, chemical depolymerization, or physical regeneration of used nylon textiles and plastic products. The produced high-quality nylon raw materials will be reused in textiles, automotive components, electronic enclosures, and various other sectors. It aligns with China’s “dual carbon” goal and presents broad prospects. This article explores the pragmatic path to promote closed-loop nylon recycling from three perspectives: technological progress, policy orientation, and market demand.
Technological Progress: Innovation-Driven, Leading Change
Significant advancements with regards to nylon recycling technology have been made in recent years. On one hand, the development of new catalysts and efficient depolymerization technologies has made the nylon recycling process more environmentally friendly and efficient. For instance, Northwestern University chemists have developed a new catalyst that quickly, cleanly and completely breaks down Nylon-6 in a matter of minutes without using any toxic solvents and without generating any harmful byproducts. These types of technologies not only reduce energy consumption and pollution in the recycling process but also enhance the quality of recycled nylon materials, making their performance comparable to virgin materials. On the other hand, the application of intelligent sorting and automated processing technologies has greatly increased the efficiency and accuracy of nylon recycling, reducing labor costs and error rates. In 2023, Andritz, Pellenc ST, and Nouvelles Fibres Textiles jointly developed a new industrial-scale automatic textile sorting line, capable of automatically sorting garments by composition and color. Similarly, the Belgian company Valvan introduced Fibersort, a new technology that integrates NIR (Near-Infrared) and RGB camera technology to automatically identify and separate nylon, polyester, acrylic, wool, viscose, and cotton.
In the future, with the continuous development of material science and chemical engineering technologies, ongoing innovation in nylon recycling technology is expected to continually infuse fresh vitality into the scaled-up and industrialized development of closed-loop nylon recycling.
Policy Orientation: Setting Clear Targets, Providing Support
Governments around the world have fully recognized the seriousness of textile and plastic pollution issues, and have introduced relevant policies to promote the recycling of waste textiles and plastics, building a circular economy. In April 2022, several government departments in China jointly issued the Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles. The Opinions indicates the phased goals for increasing the recycling rate of waste textiles. By 2025, a basic recycling system of waste textiles will be established, the recycling rate of waste textiles will be increased to 25%, and the production of recycled fiber derived from waste textiles will reach 2 million tonnes. By 2030, a well-developed waste textile recycling system will be established, the recycling rate of waste textiles will be increased to 30%, and the production of recycled fiber derived from waste textiles will reach 3 million tonnes. Looking at the world stage, Japanese Ministry of the Environment (MOE) launched the project to establish a decarbonized circular economy system in 2023 to support plastic recycling technology innovation. Certified by the MOE, Honda and Toray began a joint demonstration related to closed-loop recycling of nylon resin.
In the field of nylon recycling, many countries worldwide are setting clear recycling targets, establishing strict standards, and providing incentives such as tax credits and funding subsidies to encourage businesses to increase their R&D efforts. Such policies not only provide robust support for the development of the nylon recycling industry but also foster collaboration along the industry supply chain, effectively driving the green transformation of the entire industry. As global consensus on sustainable development deepens, the successive establishment of more explicit and robust policy orientations will become a solid foundation for the continued development of closed-loop nylon recycling.
Market Demand: Green Consumption, Driving Growth
Market demand is the key factor driving the sustainable development of closed-loop nylon recycling. With the increasing environmental awareness among consumers and the growing stringency of environmental regulations, the market demand for eco-friendly nylon materials continues to rise. In various sectors such as textiles, automobile, and electronics, terms like “recycling and regenerating”, “lightweighting”, and “eco-friendly” have become common, propelling the continuous evolution of the nylon recycling industry. Many renowned brands like Nike, Lululemon, Anta, and Jaguar Land Rover are actively using recycled nylon materials as a key strategy to improve their brand image and attract environmentally conscious consumers, providing them with more diverse and eco-friendly choices.
We believe that changes in market demand will continue to drive the transformation of the nylon recycling industry, pushing companies to increase R&D investments and improve the quality and performance of recycled nylon. Furthermore, consumers will pay more attention to the environmental attributes and sustainability of products, inclining towards choosing products made from recycled materials. Consequently, a more eco-friendly, circular, and sustainable consumption pattern is quietly taking shape. Going forward, the development of closed-loop nylon recycling will witness a trend towards deep integration between technology, policy, and market. The synergy among these three elements will help the closed-loop nylon recycling industry make the leap from “concept” to “practice”, from “local” to “global”.
