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01/15/2026 14:38

Sustainable Athletic Wear Made from Bio-Based Polyethylene

Viola Siegl Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
ITA – Institut für Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen University

    Conventional sports textiles made from petroleum-based synthetic fibres are to be replaced in the future by sustainable, bio-based, cooling textiles. Polyethylene, previously used mainly in the packaging industry, is thus qualified for use in textiles and, as a bio-based drop-in solution, offers a cost-effective, sustainable alternative for the future.
    TECNARO (Ilsfeld/Germany), BB Engineering (Remscheid/Germany), FALKE (Schmallenberg/Germany) and the Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University have developed textiles from bio-based polyethylene (bioPE) in the bioPEtex project of the BIOTEXFUTURE Innovation Space.

    TECNARO develops the bio-based PE compounds and handles their dyeing. ITA is concentrating on the process development for melt spinning (partially-oriented yarn, POY) and false-twist texturing (draw-textured yarn, DTY) of the bioPE yarns. BB Engineering implements the false-twist texturing on an industrial scale, and FALKE is developing the final T-shirt, which will be treated with a bio-based finish for improved elasticity.
    The successful creation of a first T-shirt from the yarns developed in this project underscores their promising characteristics. This represents a key milestone and forms the basis for investigating potential market readiness in subsequent phases. Above all, the white BioPE T-shirt impresses with its pleasantly cool and soft touch. However, additional development, characterisation, and optimisation steps are necessary to make a market introduction possible.


    Contact for scientific information:

    Mathias Ortega, mathias.ortega@ita.rwth-aachen.de


    More information:

    https://TECNARO https://www.tecnaro.de/en/
    https://BB Engineering https://bbeng.de/en/
    https://FALKE https://www.falke.com/uk_en/
    https://www.ita.rwth-aachen.de/cms/ita/das-institut/aktuelle-meldungen/~brndfz/n...


    Images

    a) bioPE granule,©FALKE; b) bioPE-POY+bioPE-DTY, ©FALKE; c) REM image of bioPE-POY, ©ITA; d) REM image of bioPE-DTY, ©ITA; e) T-shirt made primarily from bioPE yarns (front),© FALKE; f) T-shirt (back), ©FALKE<, g) T-Shirt (close-up), ©FALKE
    a) bioPE granule,©FALKE; b) bioPE-POY+bioPE-DTY, ©FALKE; c) REM image of bioPE-POY, ©ITA; d) REM ima ...

    Copyright: FALKE/ITA


    Criteria of this press release:
    Business and commerce, Journalists, Scientists and scholars
    Environment / ecology, Materials sciences, Mechanical engineering, Oceanology / climate, Sport science
    transregional, national
    Research projects, Transfer of Science or Research
    English


     

    a) bioPE granule,©FALKE; b) bioPE-POY+bioPE-DTY, ©FALKE; c) REM image of bioPE-POY, ©ITA; d) REM image of bioPE-DTY, ©ITA; e) T-shirt made primarily from bioPE yarns (front),© FALKE; f) T-shirt (back), ©FALKE<, g) T-Shirt (close-up), ©FALKE


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