Be mindful this New Year of the fabrics that are the hardest to recycle

Be mindful this New Year of the fabrics that are the hardest to recycle

As we move into a new year with growing awareness around sustainability, it’s worth looking more closely at what our clothes are actually made of.

Recycling fabrics is far more complex than recycling paper or glass, and many textiles currently on the market pose serious technical and economic challenges once they reach the end of their life. As of 2026, the most problematic fabrics are those made from mixed fibres or from synthetic materials that resist breakdown and reuse.

One of the biggest obstacles in textile recycling is blended fabrics, also known as multi-fibre textiles. These are extremely common in everyday clothing, from polycotton shirts to wool-nylon outerwear. While blends improve comfort, durability, or cost, they create a major problem at disposal stage.

Most recycling systems are designed to handle mono-fibre fabrics, meaning garments made entirely from one material. Separating blended fibres requires advanced mechanical or chemical processes that are energy-intensive, expensive, and still limited in scale. As a result, many blended garments have no viable recycling pathway and are instead sent to landfill or incineration.

Another material to be cautious of is elastane, also known as spandex or Lycra. Even though it is often used in very small quantities, sometimes as little as 2-5%, its impact on recyclability is outsized. Elastane’s extreme stretch and resilience cause problems during shredding and fibre recovery, where it can clog or damage machinery. Chemically, it is also difficult to dissolve without harming the other fibres it is blended with. For this reason, elastane is often referred to within the industry as a ‘killer fibre’ because its presence can render an otherwise recyclable garment unrecyclable.

Acrylic is another fabric that presents long-term environmental concerns. Commonly used as a low-cost alternative to wool in knitwear, acrylic is a petroleum-based synthetic fibre that does not biodegrade. In landfill, it can persist for up to two centuries. Recycling acrylic back into usable textile fibres is currently considered impractical, largely due to the toxic chemicals involved in its original production and the absence of infrastructure capable of safely processing it. In practice, most acrylic garments have no circular end-of-life option.

Fabrics that have been coated or chemically treated also fall into the category of hard-to-recycle textiles. Items such as raincoats, active performance wear, and upholstery are often coated with materials like PVC, polyurethane, or silicone to provide waterproofing or durability. These coatings contaminate recycling streams and prevent fibres from being cleanly recovered. Similarly, treatments advertised as wrinkle-free, stain-resistant, or fire-retardant rely on chemical finishes that are difficult to remove and can compromise entire batches of recycled material.

Finally, nylon deserves its own special mention. While high-profile initiatives like regenerated nylon from fishing nets have shown what is possible, most consumer nylon clothing remains difficult to recycle. Nylon requires more energy and more precise chemical processes to break down than polyester, and many recycling facilities lack the equipment needed to preserve fibre quality during recovery. Without access to specialised systems, nylon garments often end up discarded despite their theoretical recyclability.

Being mindful of these materials doesn’t mean avoiding clothing altogether; it means making more informed choices. Opting for mono-fibre garments, buying fewer but longer-lasting pieces, and supporting brands that design with end-of-life in mind can all help reduce textile waste. As sustainability conversations evolve this year, understanding which fabrics struggle to re-enter the system is an important step toward a more circular fashion industry.