From Performance Gear to Circular Solutions: How Patrik Frisk is Leading a Revolution in Textile-to-Textile Polyester Recycling.

Patrik Frisk has spent his entire career selling polyester. At major global powerhouses like Under Armour, The North Face, and Gore-Tex, he oversaw the production of synthetic base layers, fleeces, technical shells, and high-performance packs—all made, at least in part, with petroleum-derived materials. These products were engineered for durability, moisture-wicking, and extreme weather protection, but looking back on three decades in the sportswear industry, Frisk has been left with the uncomfortable realization that much of what he helped put into the world will eventually be thrown into the mountainous pile of global textile waste, ending up in landfills or incinerators. In a way, he is now cleaning up his mess. As the CEO of Reju, Frisk is working to develop and scale technology that can turn discarded polyester textiles back into new, high-quality materials, effectively closing the loop on one of the most environmentally taxing segments of the fashion industry.

“If we don’t do it, you and I are going to be swimming together in the waste,” Frisk says, highlighting the existential urgency of the crisis. The problem is significantly larger than the outdoor brands Frisk once led. Polyester, essentially plastic in fabric form, is the most ubiquitous synthetic fiber in the world. Current industry data suggests that more than 124 million tons of it are produced each year. It is the undisputed workhorse of the outdoor gear world, prized for its low cost, versatility, and performance characteristics. From midlayer fleeces and running shirts to backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags, polyester is simply too useful to stop producing, yet its environmental legacy is catastrophic.

Currently, the fashion and textile industry operates on a largely linear model. Most polyester follows a one-way trip: it begins as fossil fuels, is processed into fibers, manufactured into goods, and then sold to consumers. Despite growing awareness of sustainability, less than one percent of textile waste is currently recycled back into new fibers for clothing. Instead, garments are often tossed after only a few years in a closet, destined for a landfill where they may take hundreds of years to decompose, or an incinerator where they release carbon emissions and toxic chemicals. Through Reju, Frisk is trying to disrupt this cycle by intercepting polyester on its way to the dump and transforming it into a valuable resource for future manufacturing.

Founded in 2023, Reju is not a small-scale startup but a venture backed by the massive French engineering and technology company Technip Energies. This partnership provides Reju with the industrial expertise and financial backing necessary to tackle the monumental task of textile-to-textile recycling at a global scale. Reju’s corporate offices are located in Paris, where Frisk is based, while its pilot textile-to-textile recycling plant, known as the Regeneration Hub Zero, is located in Frankfurt, Germany. At this facility, engineers and chemists are testing and refining processes that could fundamentally change how the world views "garbage."

The technical challenge of recycling textiles is far more complex than recycling aluminum cans or glass bottles. To start the process at the Regeneration Hub, post-consumer polyester garments that are no longer wearable are stripped of zippers, buttons, and other trimmings. The remaining fabric is then shredded or cut into tiny pieces. However, the primary obstacle that has long stumped textile recyclers is fiber blending. A typical modern garment is rarely 100 percent polyester; it often contains a mix of cotton, nylon, or elastane (Spandex) to provide stretch and comfort. Separating these different materials has been one of the thorniest problems in the world of circularity.

Reju’s proprietary process utilizes advanced chemistry to tease apart these blended materials. By breaking the polyester polymer down into its original building blocks—monomers—the system can isolate the pure polyester from contaminants and other fiber types. What remains after this chemical breakdown is a powder of pure polyester that can be reconstituted into polyester pellets. These pellets are then extruded into new fiber and yarn, resulting in a fabric that is indistinguishable in quality from virgin polyester made directly from petroleum.

The long-term goal of Reju is to create a true circular economy by partnering with the very brands that produce the waste. Frisk envisions a future where companies like Under Armour or The North Face buy Reju’s regenerated fabric to create new lines of clothing, which can then be recycled again at the end of their life cycles. “The end game here should be that we take whatever is produced and put it back into the value chain of the brands,” Frisk explains. This approach moves beyond the "greenwashing" of the past and toward a systemic shift in how materials are sourced.

One of the primary points of resistance to this technology is the cost. Chemical recycling is currently significantly more expensive than producing virgin polyester from cheap oil. However, Frisk argues that the industry is already conditioned to pay for recycled materials, though the current methods are flawed. For years, brands have used rPET (recycled polyester) derived from plastic water bottles and discarded fishing nets. While this helps keep plastic out of the ocean, Frisk notes that mechanical recycling—the process used for bottles—degrades the polyester each time it is processed. This "downcycling" gradually reduces the quality of the material, limiting the number of times it can be reused before it becomes unusable. Reju’s chemical process, by contrast, creates a "better apple" rather than turning an apple into an orange. By returning the material to its monomer state, Reju ensures that the quality remains high, potentially allowing for infinite recycling loops.

Before Reju can dominate the market, it must build the physical infrastructure to handle the world’s waste. This year, the company announced its first two facilities in the United States, signaling a major expansion of its operations. A Regeneration Hub in Rochester, New York, is expected to begin operations in 2029, while a Research & Development Center in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, will focus on developing next-generation recycling technologies. The choice of Rochester is strategic; the city is home to the headquarters of Goodwill of the Finger Lakes. Reju has spent the past three years collaborating with Goodwill and Waste Management to solve the logistical nightmare of textile collection and sorting.

The goal of this partnership is to minimize waste and maximize value without resorting to the common practice of "waste colonialism"—baling up textile waste and shipping it to developing countries where it often ends up in massive, unregulated dumps. Jennifer Lake, CEO and President of Goodwill of the Finger Lakes, has a front-row seat to the changing nature of consumer waste. As the chair of the organization’s circularity committee, she has observed a disturbing trend: over the last five years, the number of low-value, unresellable items ending up at Goodwill has skyrocketed due to the rise of fast fashion.

“When you think of things that are beyond the point of repair, is there a way for them to be turned into, in textile’s case, the textiles of tomorrow?” Lake asks. For Goodwill, the partnership with Reju represents a way to turn a liability (unsellable clothes) into a commodity. By hand-sorting items and identifying those with high polyester content, Goodwill can provide Reju with the feedstock it needs while reducing its own disposal costs.

For outdoor enthusiasts and gear users who are increasingly conscious of their environmental footprint, Reju’s progress offers a rare reason for optimism. Many consumers have embraced the "repair and reuse" philosophy, but every piece of gear eventually reaches a point where it can no longer be mended. Knowing that a worn-out tent or a shredded running shirt could become the raw material for a brand-new jacket provides a path forward for an industry that has long struggled with its dependence on fossil fuels.

By the time the Rochester hub is fully operational in 2029, Reju aims to regenerate the equivalent of 300 million garments annually. While polyester is the current focus due to its sheer volume and market dominance, the company views this as just the beginning. The chemical processes being refined today could eventually be adapted to other synthetic and natural fibers, creating a comprehensive solution for the global textile crisis.

Frisk’s journey from a high-level executive selling millions of polyester garments to a leader in the recycling movement reflects a broader shift in the corporate world. There is a growing realization that the linear "take-make-waste" model is not only environmentally unsustainable but also a long-term business risk. As regulations regarding textile waste tighten in Europe and potentially the United States, and as consumers demand higher standards of transparency, companies that fail to adopt circular practices may find themselves left behind. Through Reju, Frisk is betting that the future of the outdoor industry lies not in the extraction of more oil, but in the intelligent recovery of the materials we have already produced.