Kipaş Textiles is stepping into the textile-to-textile recycling space with fibR-e, a new recycling platform that addresses the challenges of recycling polyester-based textiles at scale.
The recycling platform is part of a multi-year partnership between Kahramanmaraş, Turkey-based Kipaş Textiles and Meltem Kimya, a Turkish chemical company specializing in chemically recycled PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) resins and plasticizers.
FibR-e combines Meltem Kimya’s patented molecular recycling and Kipas’ thermomechanical recycling to remove colors and accessories. Through the partnership, Meltem Kimya will convert post-consumer garments containing 70 percent or more polyester, including polyester-elastane blends and any other polyester-based mixed-fiber blends. Items with trims still attached and mixed-color feedstocks will be converted into high-quality GRS-certified rTEX Chips.
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Kipaş Textiles will then turn these into certified, high-quality filament yarns and staple fibers for new textile collections. Kipaş will channel fibR-e materials directly into its own supply chain, enabling bulk production at competitive pricing. The outputs are traceable, performance-tested and designed to meet commercial quality standards while helping brands reduce virgin material use and prepare for stricter environmental regulations.
The fully integrated textile manufacturer describes fibR-e as a “turning point” for its business and circularity. The company reports that less than one percent of polyester-based clothing is recycled back into new garments. Early analysis shows that producing polyester entirely from textile waste through fibR-e cuts emissions by nearly 74 percent compared with virgin production.
“Recycling has barely scratched the surface of the polyester problem,” said Halit Gümüser, CEO of Kipaş Textiles. “With fibR-e, we can take real post-consumer waste in all its complexity and return it to the market as certified, high-quality filament yarns and staple fibers. This is how the industry moves from linear to circular, not through pilots but through commercial scale.”
Kipaş Textiles, a division of Kipaş Holding, claims to be the largest fully integrated production facility in Europe, suppling yarns, fabric and ready-made garments to leading global companies. Its annual production is 140,000 tons of yarn, 80 million meters of fabric and 5 million garments. In 2003, it launched a denim segment.
