Korea’s fibre base gives recycling technology an industrial edge
South Korea combines a major synthetic-fibre export base with advanced recycling capabilities, making the programme strategically significant. It is the world’s second-largest exporter of chemical filament fibres, with exports of about $*.** billion in ****, behind only China, according to UN Comtrade data via ITC Trade Map. It is also home to Hyosung Advanced Materials and Kolon Industries, major global tyre-cord manufacturers, and has ranked amongst the most active jurisdictions for chemical-recycling patent filings.
Yet Korea’s downstream apparel base has contracted, leaving the country with a textile trade deficit. Domestic recycling of post-consumer textile waste remains limited, Korea does not yet have a dedicated textile EPR framework comparable with emerging systems in Europe. The new programme targets this gap by developing technologies that convert difficult waste streams into secondary raw materials and support commercialisation, including solutions aligned with the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). AI-based sorting is central because mixed fibres, trims and non-textile components remain major barriers to textile-to-textile recycling.
ESPR gives Korea a window to build recycling technology for export