Polyethylene-Based Thermo-Mechanically Recyclable Stretchable Yarns for Circular Sustainable Textiles

Abstract

Most high-performance elastic textiles rely on yarns composed of chemically dissimilar polymers, rendering them difficult to recycle. Here, we demonstrate fully thermo-mechanically recyclable stretchable yarns composed of polyethylene (PE) family materials. Inspired by structure–property relationships in natural materials, we engineer a library of melt-spun PE fibers spanning mechanical properties from elastomeric to functional by tuning polymer crystallinity and chain orientation. These fibers are assembled into core–sheath yarns comprising an olefin block copolymer elastic core and a high-strength PE sheath, forming a helical architecture. The resulting yarns exceed mechanical performance of commercial PET–spandex yarns while maintaining full recyclability. We further show that PE homopolymers and copolymers can be jointly melt-processed and recycled without phase separation or loss of performance. This approach enables stretchable recyclable textiles from fibers with previously demonstrated cooling, moisture-wicking, and stain-resistant performance and provides a scalable pathway toward circular garments compatible with existing polyethylene recycling streams.