Carbios Proves Enzymatic Recycling at Industrial Scale as Patagonia, PUMA and Salomon Turn Mixed Waste into T-Shirts

Carbios and partners produced T-shirts from recycled polyester on European lines, validating its enzymatic process across the textile value chain.

Carbios has cleared a hurdle that has long frustrated the textile industry: turning complex mixed waste into wearable fabric on standard factory equipment. Together with Patagonia, PUMA and Salomon, the French biotech specialist has produced T-shirts from recycled polyester on European production lines, validating its enzymatic process across the entire textile value chain.

The raw material was anything but cooperative. The feedstock consisted of mixed textile and plastic waste that conventional mechanical sorting struggles to separate into clean streams. Carbios' biological method handled it anyway, operating under ordinary industrial conditions rather than in a controlled laboratory setting.

Fiber Quality Matches Virgin Polyester

Partner Selenis produced more than one tonne of the granulate marketed as EnzyTex r-PET during the three-year collaboration. The resulting fibers met industrial specifications across the board — tensile strength, dyeability and color fastness all came in at levels comparable to newly manufactured polyester.

That equivalence matters more than the tonnage. For apparel brands, fiber quality is the precondition for placing recycled material into regular collections rather than niche capsule lines. The demonstration showed the technology can deliver on that front.

Running the process on established European manufacturing lines also reduces the need for downstream processors to build dedicated new plants. For Carbios, the trial run stands as proof that its technological approach works ahead of a broader commercial rollout.

China Joint Venture Adds Global Dimension

The fiber-to-fiber success gives Carbios a stronger hand in marketing its technology worldwide. In Asia, the company is pursuing a partnership with Wankai through a joint venture for a planned PET biorecycling plant in Haining, China. Wankai would hold 70 percent of the venture, with Carbios taking 30 percent.

The facility is designed to process 50,000 tonnes of waste PET annually, with construction costs estimated at EUR 115 million. Financing is structured with 30 percent equity and 70 percent debt guaranteed by Wankai. Commissioning is targeted for the first quarter of 2027.

Market Cheers, but the Chart Still Hurts

Investors welcomed the textile news. Carbios shares climbed 10 percent during the session to EUR 6.01, a rare bright spot for a stock that has lost 47 percent since the start of the year.

The company remains in a transition phase. Its net loss for fiscal 2025 came in at EUR 34.3 million, and its market capitalization stands at EUR 88.91 million.

Whether the collaboration with the sportswear manufacturers translates into binding large-scale orders in the near term will be decisive for the company's next chapter.