Upcycling Polyester to Curb Textile Waste

A team of Cornell University chemists and engineers has created a way to break down old polyester clothing and reuse some of its compounds to make a variety of new products — and to disrupt the cycle of textile waste proliferation. Learn more in this video about how upcycling polyester can help curb textile waste.

“Eventually, we are going to run out of space,” Hinestroza says. “We’re going run out of countries where we can send our textile garbage. The consequences are quite sad, but the solution is possible and it is in ourselves,” says Juan Hinestroza , the Rebecca Q. Morgan ’60 Professor of Fiber Science and Apparel Design in the College of Human Ecology.