Japan’s Jeplan and textile recycling company Syre have signed a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating commercial-scale textile-to-textile polyester recycling, as the industry intensifies efforts to build reliable, high-volume circular fibre supply.
Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly develop and fine-tune processes intended to support large-scale recycling of polyester textiles. Their near-term objective is to reach multi-tonne output of recycled polyester by late 2026—material that will be used for spinning trials, validation runs and sample development with multiple brands.
Syre CEO Dennis Nobelius said the collaboration is designed to move quickly while maintaining performance standards. “This partnership is all about speed and scale, without compromising on quality. Through Jeplan’s technical and operational experience built over more than a decade, we can move much faster to commercialisation.”
Jeplan CEO Masaki Takao said the partnership combines Syre’s scale ambitions with Jeplan’s experience operating chemical recycling infrastructure. “We are excited to partner with Syre to help bring textile-to-textile recycling to meaningful scale. Syre’s ambition, business back bone, and global reach in technology integration, combined with our extensive chemical recycling experience creates a powerful platform for accelerating breakthrough solutions for the textile industry.”
Jeplan operates a PET chemical recycling facility for textiles in Kitakyushu, Japan, which includes demonstration and semi-industrial units focused on testing and scaling new recycling methods. Syre, meanwhile, is building out large-scale systems to reduce textile waste and lower emissions, with polyester positioned as its initial focus due to the fibre’s dominant share of global textile production.
By tapping Jeplan’s existing operations and chemical recycling capabilities, Syre aims to shorten the path from development work to commercial deployment—an area where many circular textile technologies have struggled to move beyond pilot scale. The partnership is also intended to support the consistent quality needed for brands to adopt recycled inputs across product lines, particularly as regulatory and customer expectations tighten.
Syre indicated the Jeplan agreement is part of a wider partner-led scale-up strategy. Nobelius said further collaborations are expected as the company pushes toward industrial rollout. “We are proud to announce Jeplan today, and more will follow. We expect to announce several additional world-leading partnerships around the globe as we move toward full commercial deployment.”
If the late-2026 multi-tonne target is met, the two companies could provide a tangible proof point that textile-to-textile polyester recycling can move from controlled demonstrations into repeatable, brand-ready supply at meaningful volume.
