Published September 22, Textile Exchange's 2026 Materials Market Report finds that 97% of recycled polyester produced in 2025 came from plastic bottles. Across all fibers, textile-to-textile recycled production amounted to just 0.76%, up from 0.61% in 2021.
Those figures describe different denominators. The first concerns the origin of recycled polyester; the second concerns textile-to-textile material across total fiber production. Neither means that 97% of polyester was recycled.
The report also reaches beyond clothing into home and technical textiles. A recycled label can describe a genuine material substitution without establishing a garment-to-garment loop. That distinction is more useful at the clothes rail than assuming the label settles durability, quality or the item's eventual destination.