China’s Xtep has big plans for PLA in clothing

In China, sporting goods brand Xtep has introduced t-shirts made from polylactic acid in an effort to cut down on the massive environmental footprint of textile and clothing manufacturing. 

The clothes were made from PLA fiber produced from corn, straw and other starchy crops. The company also produces a PLA windbreaker, adding that it successfully overcame the challenge of coloring PLA-based textiles. 

Sweaters made with 67% PLA fiber are slated to go on sale next year, with 100% PLA trench coats targeted for the third quarter 2022. The company has set a target to produce more than one million articles of clothing with PLA in 2023. 

According to the United Nations, fashion emissions account for 10% of global carbon emissions—making it second only to oil.