Bio-based textiles in a sustainable and circular bioeconomy
Bio-based textiles can be made of natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic fibres. They can help reduce the use of virgin fossil-based synthetic materials, coupled with increasing textile-to-textile recycling and limiting over-production. This is challenging, as synthetic textile fibre production from fossil resources has grown significantly in the last years, reaching 67 % of the global market in 2023.
Although cotton is the second most produced fibre at global level, the EU holds a minor share of the cotton market and it is expected to remain a net importer in the near future.
Flax, hemp and wool are important sources of natural fibres that can be produced and processed fully within the EU. However, their value chains are fragmented with small production volumes, resulting in a limited market share. For flax and hemp, in addition to a general up-scaling, the steps which have main room for improvements are retting/degumming, spinning, modification and treatment of fibres and yarns. For wool, increasing production and use in Europe requires rebuilding a European infrastructure for collection and processing.
Semi-synthetic man-made cellulosic fibres are obtained by a chemical conversion of cellulose. They are, after cotton, the most common bio-based fibre type. In addition to certified wood, important sources of cellulose with high untapped potential are agricultural residues, miscanthus and switchgrass from degraded lands, reallocated wood cellulose from paper to textile industry and end-of-life textiles.
Polylactic Acid (PLA) is the only synthetic bio-based polyester fibre on the textile market. Although biodegradable, PLA has inferior performances than fossil polyesters and higher costs are often associated. Other fully bio-based synthetic fibres are still in their early development. The bio-based synthetics production requires reliable and sustainable sources of bio-based monomers, as well as sufficient and efficient production infrastructure and logistics. Knowledge gaps on sustainability of bio-based synthetics should be addressed.
HARMSEN Paulien;
SKRIFVARS Mikael;
MAGNOLFI Valeria;
BORZACCHIELLO Maria Teresa;
2025-02-05
European Commission
JRC140676
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC140676,
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