MIT Engineers Develop Recyclable Stretch Yarn to Replace Spandex

MIT Engineers Develop Recyclable Stretch Yarn to Replace Spandex

MIT engineers have created a stretchy yarn made entirely from polyethylene, offering a recyclable alternative to spandex blends that currently dominate the activewear and stretch-fabric market. The yarn matches spandex in stretch and strength but is built from a single plastic family rather than mixed fibers. Researchers led by Svetlana Boriskina of MIT’s Department of […] The post MIT Engineers Develop Recyclable Stretch Yarn to Replace Spandex…

MIT engineers create a stretchy yarn designed to be melted down and recycled

MIT engineers made a new stretchy yarn out of polyethylene, the same plastic used in milk jugs and grocery bags, instead of spandex blends that can’t be recycled. The new yarn can be melted down and respun into new yarn over and over, and it stayed just as strong after ten rounds of recycling. Because most stretchy clothing today mixes materials that can’t be separated, almost none of it gets recycled, so this single-material design could help c…