# Polyester fibre: Emissions

Coal power in spinning hubs adds to the carbon

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/emissions/

What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint per tonne, split by lifecycle phase (feedstock, production, movement, use, end of life), the global total, other environmental impacts, levers and low-carbon routes, India's position, and where the investment opportunity lies. Emission intensity 3.00 t CO2e per t range 2.5-4.1 · indicative (basis: 0.86 t PTA x 1.3 + 0.335 t MEG x 2.2 = about 1.86 t for polymer inputs, plus about 1.0 t for polymerisation, spinning and texturing on coal-heavy Asian grids, plus 0.1 t transport); Shen and Patel (2010) give 4.1 t CO2e/t and 96 GJ/t for PET fibre Global emissions per year 220 Mt CO2e per year 2024 · 68.7 Mt virgin x 3.0 + 9.3 Mt recycled x about 1.5 (indicative)

Per t of virgin polyester fibre, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: derived from PTA and MEG tiles; Shen and Patel 2010 via Felgueiras et al. 2021 (Frontiers in Bioengineering). Global total: derived; Textile Exchange 2025 volumes.

#### Share of footprint by lifecycle phase
 Feedstock 62% Production / process 35% Movement 3%

#### Footprint by lifecycle phase

| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Feedstock** | about 1.86 t CO2e per t | 62% | PTA (via PX) and MEG; coal-based MEG in China is about twice as carbon-intensive |  | PTA and MEG tiles |
| **Production / process** | about 1.0 t CO2e per t (indicative) | 35% | Polymerisation heat, spinning and texturing electricity, much of it from coal in China and India | Texturing and air-conditioning of spinning halls are large power users | indicative |
| **Movement** | about 0.1 t CO2e per t (indicative) | 3% | Container shipping and trucking |  | indicative |
| **Use** | not counted in cradle-to-gate | – | Washing and drying of garments | Microfibre shedding releases plastic to waterways | n/a |
| **End of life** | about 2.3 t CO2 per t if incinerated | – | Most textiles are landfilled or burned; less than 1% of fibre comes from recycled textiles (Textile Exchange) | Polyester does not biodegrade | stoichiometry (62.5% carbon) |

#### Other environmental impacts

Microfibre pollution; antimony in fibre and wastewater; dyehouse effluent; polyester's low water use (about 125 m3/t versus 5,730 m3/t for cotton, Felgueiras et al. 2021) is a counterpoint.

#### Levers to cut emissions

- Recycled content (bottle-to-fibre now about 12%; textile-to-textile below 1%)
- Renewable power for spinning and texturing
- Electrified or biomass process heat for polymerisation
- Bio-MEG and lower-carbon PTA upstream
- Durability and design for recycling

#### India

India's polyester footprint is high because spinning and texturing run on coal-heavy power and captive plants. Its large bottle-collection system supports one of the bigger recycled PSF industries (indicative). No national fibre footprint is published.
 Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

#### Low-carbon routes

| Route | Intensity | Cost premium | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Mechanically recycled PSF from bottles** | about 1.0-1.5 t CO2e per t (indicative) | small to none, depending on flake prices (indicative) | 9.3 Mt in 2024 (Textile Exchange); large in India (Reliance, Ganesha Ecosphere) | Textile Exchange 2025; indicative |
| **Textile-to-textile chemical recycling** | not published | large (indicative) | pilot and first plants; below 1% of fibre | Textile Exchange 2025 |

 For a climate investor The investable gap is textile-to-textile recycling: sorting post-consumer and factory waste in Tiruppur, Panipat and Surat and turning it into fibre-grade monomer or chip, where EU recycled-content and EPR rules create demand. A second angle is renewable power and heat for Indian spinning clusters. What has to be true: reliable feedstock collection, buyers paying a premium, and chemical recycling costs falling towards virgin parity.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/characteristics/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/links/index.md)