Our entrepreneurship initiative centers around Textile Fighter, a system that enables enzymatic recycling of PET-cotton blended textiles, known for being notoriously difficult to recycle using conventional methods. The solution connects real-world stakeholders across the textile recycling ecosystem to form a circular textile economy.

As shown in the diagram above, the process begins with textile recyclers like Jiutai and NGOs, who collect and pre-sort blended textile waste. The materials then undergo chemical and enzymatic pretreatment, followed by enzymatic degradation using our engineered PETase (TfCut2) to break down PET into its monomers. These monomers are sent to textile manufacturers such as Kingwhale, who upcycle them into new PET fibers. Throughout the process, we collaborate with experts and institutions (like TTRI and academic researchers) to validate enzyme performance and guide industrial integration.

Our approach involves two key enzymes:

• TfCut2: An engineered PETase that breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into its monomers, terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG). We created six TfCut2 variants through mutagenesis to enhance stability and degradation efficiency under semi-crystalline textile conditions. We chose TfCut2 over other enzymes like LCC-ICCG due to its high thermostability (50-60°C), established structural data, and its versatility in degrading not only PET but also other polyesters like PBAT. These qualities make TfCut2 more adaptable for mixed plastic waste streams and industrial implementation.
• Cellulase Cocktail: Applied in the pretreatment phase, this enzyme mix breaks down cotton-based cellulose, helping to loosen the textile matrix and reduce fiber crystallinity. This enhances PET accessibility for TfCut2, improving degradation. Although we do not plan to commercialize this component, its function is essential for boosting the overall efficiency of PET hydrolysis, especially in tightly woven or high-cotton-content fabrics.

We began by optimizing this system in the lab and are now testing it under field conditions with industry and academic partners. Our ultimate goal is not only to close the loop on blended textiles, but also to create a scalable, modular, and open-access platform for textile recycling—suitable for both community-level and industrial implementation.

The fashion industry faces a massive sustainability crisis. Over 92 million tonnes of textile waste are produced globally each year, with the majority ending up in landfills or being incinerated (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). A major contributor to this problem is the use of blended fabrics, particularly PET-cotton blends, which comprise 60-70% of modern garments (McKinsey & Company, 2020). These materials are nearly impossible to recycle using current technologies. Mechanical recycling can't separate them, and chemical recycling is energy-intensive, requiring high heat and harsh chemicals.

This creates both an environmental emergency and a commercial opportunity. As global regulation tightens and major brands adopt circular economy targets, there is a growing demand for scalable, eco-friendly solutions that can handle complex textile waste. Yet, less than 1% of clothes are recycled into new garments (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). This presents a clear market gap where biotechnology can make a change.

Our project addresses this unmet need by developing a biological recycling system based on enzyme-driven degradation. Through synthetic biology, we engineered enzymes that can selectively and efficiently break down both polyester and cotton components. This approach offers a low-energy, modular, and scalable alternative to traditional recycling methods.

Textile Fighters is a dual-enzyme degradation system engineered to break down PET-cotton blended fabrics, which are notoriously difficult to recycle using traditional methods. The process begins with chemical pretreatment using sodium hydroxide (NaOH), which loosens the textile structure and reduces crystallinity, thereby making the fibers more accessible to enzymatic degradation. The first enzymatic step applies a customized cellulase cocktail (including CbhA, BhBglA, and BsEgls) to hydrolyze the cotton-derived cellulose into glucose. This step serves as a pretreatment to enhance accessibility and minimize interference during the subsequent degradation of PET.

The second enzymatic step targets the polyester (PET) using TfCut2, an enzyme derived from Thermobifida fusca. We developed six TfCut2 variants through site-directed mutagenesis and computational design to enhance thermal stability (50-60°C), binding affinity, and catalytic efficiency on semi-crystalline PET. TfCut2 breaks PET into its monomers—terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG). These monomers are not only recovered but are also repolymerized into PET granules, allowing the production of new polyester fibers for textile formation, enabling true textile-to-textile recycling.

To monitor degradation in real time, we also engineered a biosensor system that detects and reports continuous data on TPA levels. This serves as a functional indicator of enzymatic activity and system progress, ensuring that performance can be tracked in industrial or field settings. Textile Fighter's modular system is adaptable to both industrial and community-scale operations, offering a low-energy, circular solution to managing blended textile waste.

1. Pretreatment
   To improve enzyme accessibility, we apply a chemical pretreatment using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and ethanol (EtOH). This step reduces fiber crystallinity, loosens the textile matrix, and enhances subsequent enzymatic breakdown.
2. Cotton Degradation (Cellulase)
   Cotton fibers are composed of cellulose, which we degrade using a cellulase enzyme cocktail. The enzymes hydrolyze cellulose into glucose, which can be repurposed as an industrial feedstock. Since cellulases operate optimally under different pH and temperature conditions than TfCut2, this step is performed sequentially to preserve enzyme activity.
3. Polyester Degradation (PET)
   We use TfCut2, a PET-hydrolyzing enzyme derived from Thermobifida fusca, which we further optimized via site-directed mutagenesis and computational modeling. We developed and screened six variants, selecting those with improved: Thermostability (50-60°C); Catalytic efficiency; Performance on semi-crystalline PET. TfCut2 cleaves PET into its monomers: terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG). We also built a TPA biosensor to quantify and monitor enzymatic degradation output.

System Features:

• Modular: Can be integrated into various recycling systems
• Dual-Enzyme: Targets both PET and cotton components
• High-Yield Recovery: Recovers TPA, EG, and glucose for reuse or upcycling
• Open-Access Design: Enzymes and protocols can be shared for global adaptation

This system enables a truly circular pathway for textile waste—replacing downcycling and incineration with bio-based monomer recovery and reuse.

Product Information

The global textile industry is valued at $1.8 trillion (2023) and is projected to grow to $2.4 trillion by 2030 (Statista, 2023). However, this economic growth brings increasing pressure to address sustainability. Despite rising demand for circular solutions, blended fabrics such as PET-cotton, comprising 60-70% of garments, remain almost unrecyclable using current technologies. While innovations in design and policy are advancing, less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017), exposing a major market gap for scalable, low-impact recycling solutions that align with both environmental goals and industry growth.

This presents a significant opportunity for bio-based solutions. The textile recycling market, currently valued at $5.8 billion, is expected to exceed $12 billion by 2030, growing at a 12-15% CAGR (MarketsandMarkets, 2023). Within this sector, demand is rising for low-energy, circular technologies that align with both consumer values and regulatory trends. The European Union's 2025 textile EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) directive, along with Taiwan's Resource Recycling Act, is accelerating the demand for scalable recycling infrastructure (European Commission, 2022; Taiwan EPA, 2023).

Our solution is well-positioned to address a specific unmet need: enzymatic recycling of blended textiles. While mechanical recycling is limited to pure fabrics and chemical methods are cost- and energy-intensive, biological recycling offers high specificity, modularity, and environmental advantages. Some startups (e.g., Carbios, Samsara Eco) are beginning to explore pilot enzyme-based systems with partner brands, signaling growing B2B interest. In parallel, governments and municipal waste systems are seeking cost-effective ways to divert textile waste from incinerators and landfills.

Additionally, compared to indirect competitors like mechanical recyclers like Worn Again technologies, TfCut2’s biochemical specificity allows closed-loop recycling, preserving material value and significantly lowering environmental impact. While mechanical processes remain cost-effective and widespread, the market trend increasingly favors biotechnological solutions capable of achieving both sustainability and material circularity, making TfCut2 a forward-looking player in the evolving recycling ecosystem.

The diagram illustrates the customer segmentation and market sizing funnel for our enzymatic textile recycling solution. At the broadest level is the global population (~8 billion), narrowing down to the potential market of ~92 million tons of textile waste generated annually, valued at $1.8 trillion (2023) and is projected to grow to $2.4 trillion by 2030 (Statista, 2023). From there, the available market includes the ~34 million tons of textile waste that are actually collected for recycling. Despite rising demand for circular solutions, blended fabrics such as PET-cotton, comprising 60-70% of garments, remain almost unrecyclable using current technologies. Within that, we estimate a qualified available market of ~5-10 million tons of blended PET/cotton waste in countries with sufficient infrastructure. While innovations in design and policy are advancing, less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017), exposing a major market gap for scalable, low-impact recycling solutions that align with both environmental goals and industry growth. Our target market consists of the 1-2 million tons of textile waste that are realistically addressable with current enzymatic recycling capabilities. Finally, our penetrated market reflects the <50 tons/year reached through existing collaborations, pilot tests, and education campaigns. This diagram demonstrates both the scale of opportunity and the focused niche our iGEM project is positioned to impact.

Comparing different types of degradation methods

In the market of textile recycling, many stakeholders like enzyme developers, textile manufacturers, recycling companies, or sustainability driven consumers are converging towards reducing textile waste and promoting circularity.

Current degradation methods fall into 2 main categories: chemical and enzymatic. With each of them having its own distinct trade-offs.

Chemical degradation methods are valued for their speed, versatility, and scalability (capable of rapidly treating a wide range of complex pollutants or mixtures). However, they often require harsh conditions (like high energy, or extreme temperature/pH) and generate toxic byproducts, limiting their environmental advantage (Bittencourt et al., 2023).

In contrast, enzymatic degradation offers a biologically precise, eco-friendly and high specificity alternative (with precise pollutant targeting or keeping hazardous byproducts to the minimum) (Shu et al., 2023). However, the primary drawbacks are high costs of enzyme production and purification, with low operational stability of proteins (making them sensitive to environmental conditions) and also often have limited substrate range which restricts their use to specific pollutants, needing extra steps to sort waste.

Within the enzymatic domain, our enzyme TfCut2 stands out from other direct competitors like Carbios using LCC through milder conditions and higher thermal stability under industrial conditions. Our TfCut2 engineered enzyme also stands out with better efficiency than the TfCut2 wildtype, which positions itself as a strong candidate for large-scale textile waste management (Bittencourt et al., 2023).

Additionally, compared to indirect competitors like chemical recyclers like Worn Again technologies, TfCut2’s biochemical specificity allows the production of a high yield of pure PET monomers, encouraging a more efficient closed-loop recycling.

Direct Competitors Using Enzymatic Degradation:

Indirect Competitors:

Market & Industry Insight

The global textile market is valued at $1.8 trillion and growing. Yet <1% of textiles are recycled into new garments. The textile recycling sector is projected to exceed $12 billion by 2030.

Brands like H&M, Zara, and Patagonia have committed to circularity, and governments (EU, Taiwan) are enforcing textile waste regulations. Our solution aligns with these forces, providing a biological, energy-efficient pathway for blended textile waste that mechanical and chemical methods cannot solve.

The stakeholder map helps us align our engagement strategy based on each partner's level of influence and interest in the Textile Fighter project. By understanding where each group stands, we ensure effective communication and collaboration.

Manage Closely

TTRI (Taiwan Textile Research Institute)

TTRI is a leading government-backed research institute focused on advancing Taiwan's textile industry through innovation, sustainability, and policy integration. In our project, TTRI played a pivotal role in bridging science and industry. Through meetings with Deputy Director Liang Nai-Yun, PhD and Chief Li Jo-Hwa, we gained insights into industrial standards, enzyme performance benchmarking, and ISO-based environmental metrics. Their validation advice helped us align our technology with realistic implementation goals and industry wide expectations.

Academia Sinica

As Taiwan's top academic institution, Academia Sinica leads cutting-edge research across disciplines, including biotechnology and materials science. Their input enhanced our enzyme engineering efforts. We collaborated with their researchers on computational modeling and site-directed mutagenesis strategies, helping us refine the design of our TfCut2 variants. Their academic endorsement also boosted the technical credibility of our system.

Jiutai

Jiutai is a major textile waste collector in Taiwan, working with both communities and businesses to sort and process post-consumer textiles. They provided practical knowledge on the textile waste stream, revealing monthly collection volumes and current practices for separating PET and cotton. Jiutai’s willingness to collaborate by supplying raw textile waste and advising on pretreatment costs helped ground our project in real-world constraints, making our enzyme solution more field-ready.

Kingwhale

Kingwhale is a vertically integrated Taiwanese textile company producing functional fabrics for global outdoor and performance brands. We identified Kingwhale as a potential user of our PET monomers to produce eco-fabrics. Their position as a sustainability-focused brand makes them a promising collaborator for monomer testing.

NGOs (Textile collection)

We collaborated with NGOs through partners like inBlooom, which focuses on empowering women through sustainable community-based production. They supported our education and outreach activities during public events, helping us spread awareness about bio-based recycling. Direct collaboration between us and textile collector NGOs can also be made possible, providing us with textile waste for upcycling.

Keep Satisfied

Far Eastern New Century (FENC)

FENC is a major global manufacturer of PET resin, textiles, and recycled fibers, supplying brands like Nike and Adidas. Though we have not engaged them directly, they are a potential downstream user of our degraded monomers. Including them in our map ensures our business model stays aligned with the needs of large-scale fiber production companies.

Formosa Plastics Group

Formosa is a conglomerate with operations in petrochemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibers. Their infrastructure supports high-volume plastic processing. We identified them as a future licensing or integration partner, given their capability to scale up monomer-to-polymer upcycling pipelines. Our monomers could help Formosa meet sustainability targets as regulations increase.

Taiwan RECA

Taiwan’s Resource Environment Circulation Administration manages national waste regulations, recycling programs, and environmental subsidies. Though we didn’t collaborate directly, industry stakeholders highlighted the RECA’s role in incentivizing textile recycling (e.g., per-kilogram subsidies). A clear understanding of RECA policy helps us tailor our deployment strategy to government-supported frameworks.

Fashion Brands (H&M, Uniqlo, Adidas)

These global brands have made public commitments to circularity and net-zero goals. These Fashion brands have a high influence over how we price our products and our marketing strategy. Although we haven’t partnered with them, they represent our target B2B audience. Our enzyme system supports their need for sustainable, recycled feedstock beyond conventional methods.

Keep Informed

Breaking / Dr. Vaskar Gnyawali

Breaking is a biotech company focused on plastic biodegradation using microbial and enzymatic systems. Dr. Gnyawali advised us on the limitations of single-enzyme systems, the importance of pH stabilization, and microbial bio-prospecting. While not a direct implementer, Breaking's expertise influenced our approach and opened collaboration opportunities for research and outreach.

Academic Researchers

This includes international enzymology experts (e.g., Prof. Zimmermann, Prof. Bornscheuer, Prof. Beckham) with experience in polymer degradation. Their advice helped refine our enzyme design, target temperature/pH ranges, and test plan. While not commercial stakeholders, they enhanced our technical roadmap.

New fiber textile

New fiber textile is one of Taiwan’s largest PET fiber manufacturers, known for producing performance textiles used in sportswear and industrial fabrics. We engaged Shinkong New Fiber Textile to analyze whether our monomers could be reintegrated into new fiber production to complete the textile to textile process. Their feedback on substrate purity, performance standards, and carbon footprint calculations shaped how we presented our technology to potential B2B adopters.

De licacy

De licacy is a high-end Taiwanese textile manufacturer focused on eco-performance fabrics and custom knitting. While we haven’t collaborated directly, they represent a niche user segment that could benefit from incorporating enzymatically recovered monomers into sustainable textile lines.

Monitor

General Textile Consumers

This group includes everyday buyers of clothing and household textiles. While they don’t engage with our enzyme directly, their preferences shape demand for recycled products. Our public outreach helps prepare this market to embrace bio-based, recycled garments.

Schools & Students

Our outreach involved hands-on science education with students, introducing synthetic biology and sustainability. While not involved in deployment, they represent our commitment to inclusivity and long-term behavior change through education.

General Media / Press

We monitored public interest through event coverage and social media. Engaging media helped amplify our impact, though they hold limited power over actual technology implementation.

Interview of Key Stakeholders in Taiwan's Textile Ecosystem

To ensure our solution is grounded in real-world needs, we engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders across Taiwan's textile and recycling sectors. These included government research institutions, industrial recyclers, fiber manufacturers, and circular fashion brands. Through in-depth interviews and field visits, we gathered technical feedback, market insights, and validation strategies that directly shaped the development and deployment of our enzyme system.

Taiwan Textile Research Institute (TTRI)

Our meeting with Deputy Director Liang Nai-Yun, PhD and Chief Li Jo-Hwa from TTRI provided critical insights into how our enzymatic PET degradation system could be applied in Taiwan's industrial context. They emphasized the importance of validating our enzyme's performance against global standards and recommended quantifying environmental impact using ISO metrics to enhance industry credibility. They also encouraged us to improve our enzyme range and stability to handle complex textiles more effectively.

Click to check IHP wiki for more information

New Fibers Textile (Xin Qian)

Our technical visit to Xin Qian clarified why traditional recycling methods fail to address PET-cotton blends. They highlighted the inefficiencies of both mechanical and chemical approaches and reinforced the importance of a tailored, enzyme-based strategy. Xin Qian also introduced us to lifecycle analysis and carbon footprint tools, shaping how we position our solution as both effective and verifiable in real-world sustainability terms.

Click to check IHP wiki for more information

Breaking

Dr. Vaskar Gnyawali, co-founder of Breaking, a biotech company focused on engineering microorganisms and enzymes to biologically break down all types of plastics. He advised us on technical challenges in PET degradation. He emphasized the importance of multi-enzyme or sequential strategies due to PET's crystallinity and highlighted the need for pH control and byproduct management to maintain enzyme stability. He also introduced Breaking's bio-prospecting approach and expressed interest in future collaboration on outreach and lab-based work.

Click to check IHP wiki for more information

De Licacy

De Licacy Textile is a Taiwan midstream textile manufacturer with over ten years of experience in fabric development and production. It is known for functional and sustainable materials, integrating recycled resources into fabrics for global brands and focusing on innovation and performance. This meeting gave us more ideas into where our enzyme recycling could connect to the supply chain nowadays and what kinds of markets are most open to the change we can give.

Key Insights and Takeaways

Recycling Nowadays: Recycled PET materials for their products come mainly from PET bottles, with a smaller portion from textiles. Because bottle recycling is relatively more mature, the price difference between PET and bottle-recycled PET is very small. But in contrast, textile-to-textile recycling still faces high collection and processing costs.

Market Direction: Brands like Lululemon, Adidas etc, are the strong drivers of sustainable textiles. Their customers are normally more conscious of eco problems and willing to pay slightly higher prices, so it makes them the most promising first market for new kinds of recycling solutions.

Taiwan's Role: Taiwan has built its reputation on creating high performance and functional fabrics rather than competing in mass production. What makes Taiwan stand out is how quickly companies can adapt new ideas. This means that our enzyme solutions need to be not only cost effective but also have the quality that can fit in Taiwan's textile industry.

Collaboration: For new recycling technologies to be adopted, three factors are most important:

• Purity of monomers: In order for us to stand out from those chemical and physical solution, we need to ensure our high purity for recycling.
• Scalability and stability: The scalability and stability are both important especially for manufacturers, only high scalability and stability can make us more credible.
• Cost competitiveness (top priority for manufacturers): Cost is always an important factor, however, it is the most important for business because pre-treatment itself already cost a lot, they have to consider a lot more.

Jiutai

When we visited Jiutai, we had a vision of what the upstream of textile recycling looks like in reality. They showed us how clothes are first stripped of parts like buttons and zippers, then carefully sorted by material to decide what can actually be recycled. For example, nowadays fast fashion clothes can be hard to recycle because of their low quality; therefore some of them can't be reused. This makes the sorting step more important, but it also means there is a large stream of clothes waiting to be processed. After we saw the scale of operation made us realized how much demand for recycling exists in textile recycling. Through this visit, we gained a better vision of how our project could fit into the industry. Jiutai's ability to categorize the fabric with different proportions of PET, with the decent price they sell of the waste clothes, saves more cost and time for pretreating the waste clothes. If we work with Jiutai(upstream), our monomers could flow directly to Kingwhale(downstream), who can turn them back into clothes. This is a simple line from waste to new fabric. Jiutai gave us not just information; but also helped us see how our solution can be put into a real functioning supply chain.

Kingwhale

We met Mr. Huang from Kingwhale, a Taiwanese company that makes good fabrics for outdoor brands. Even though Kingwhale mostly works with pure PET and doesn't deal with PET cotton blends like we're focused on, he still provides us a lot of insight. He explained that for companies to use new recycling methods, they have to make sense financially, it has to be cost effective and the market also has to accept it. We also discussed challenges like coatings on clothes and how sustainability isn't just about recycling but the whole production process, from using renewable energy to reducing waste. This meeting helped us understand what real world industry in this field looks like and how to think more like a company but not just a lab team.

Key Insights and Takeaways

• Realistic: Instead of degrading PET-cotton blends, should first work with 100% PET. Whereas most performance wear is made from pure PET, which is already recyclable to a certain extent. Aiming on blends may add extra cost and complexity can make companies concerned unless it's highly scalable or cheap.
• Hidden Coatings problem: A lot of fabrics have layers like PU or water resistant coatings that aren't visible but can stop the degradation process, these coatings are hard to remove and is also a challenge for chemical recycling. This means we need to find ways for adaptations or accept the lower purity result.
• Price control while performing better: Even the most sustainable consumers aren't likely to pay more than 50% extra just for a sustainable thing. If a product costs more and doesn't perform better, it won't be chosen. This means we have to think more than science, and consider collaboration with larger scale companies to explore better price chances.

We operate on a B2B model focused on enzyme licensing, pilot kit distribution, and co-development:

• Enzyme Licensing: For textile recyclers, manufacturers, and polymer processors.
• Pilot Kits: Modular deployment systems for field validation, testing, and early adopters.
• Custom Co-Development: Joint development with brands and recyclers to tailor enzymes to local waste streams.
• Subscription Services: Technical support and enzyme resupply for long-term clients.

By targeting government-backed textile recycling mandates, corporate ESG goals, and sustainability-driven brands, we create a scalable commercialization pathway. Our open-access format also allows academic and nonprofit groups to adapt and deploy the system globally.

The following diagram demonstrates how we build up the business model

Value Proposition

This value proposition highlights the advantages of TfCut2 over PETase, which is currently the most widely studied and commercially used PET-degrading enzyme. PETase is well known for initiating interest in enzymatic PET recycling, but it has significant limitations that restrict its industrial application (King & Locock, 2022; Muringayil Joseph et al., 2024). For instance, PETase rapidly loses activity above ~40 °C, making it poorly suited for operating at the higher temperatures required to reach PET's glass transition phase, where polymers become more accessible to enzymatic attack. Additionally, PETase performs poorly on high-crystallinity PET and blended textiles, further limiting its effectiveness in real-world waste streams (Guo et al., 2025). In contrast, TfCut2 addresses these shortcomings and creates substantial gains for end-users. TfCut2 demonstrates higher thermostability, retaining activity under industrially relevant temperatures, and shows faster degradation rates on PET films compared to PETase. Importantly, TfCut2 also performs more effectively on blended textiles, which are a major challenge in current recycling systems (Muringayil Joseph et al., 2024). Together, these advantages align with customer needs for reliable, scalable solutions to plastic waste, providing enzymes that maintain stability across diverse pH and temperature ranges while achieving high degradation efficiency (Xu et al., 2023). By directly comparing TfCut2 to PETase, the established benchmark enzyme, we demonstrate that TfCut2 offers a clear step forward in the enzymatic recycling landscape, delivering both technical improvements and practical relevance for industrial adoption (King & Locock, 2022; Guo et al., 2025).

SWOT Analysis

Our enzymatic system, which utilizes the cutinase TfCut2, demonstrates strong potential in the textile industry. There are many advantages of TfCut2, including its thermal stability and sustainability. Enzymatic degradation could cut CO₂ emissions by up to 92% compared to incineration or landfill disposal (Zhang et al., 2022). This process also yields a high monomer recovery, allowing for a circular economy. The technical strengths of our enzymatic strategy opened the door to many possibilities, such as the partnerships we currently have with Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Group, FENC, and the Taiwan EPA.

Future opportunities include working with large fast fashion brands, global expansion into high-need regions, and licensing opportunities with large textile producers. This is reinforced by market and policy trends: the sustainable textile market is projected to reach $12 billion by 2027 with a CAGR of 15% (CAGR Report, 2022), while global ESG assets are expected to hit $53 trillion by 2025 (Bloomberg Intelligence, 2021). Regulatory drivers such as the UN Plastics Treaty (2024) and expanding ESG investment further encourage adoption of sustainability practices.

However, there are a few hindrances. Intense competition from other large enzyme startups, such as Carbios and concerns over safety could slow adoption into the market. Moreover, the production cost of enzyme manufacturing at $165/μg is not yet cost-competitive with chemical recycling at scale(Carbios, 2023). Scalability could also be a challenge as pilot capacity may lag behind industrial demand in the early years.

Despite these challenges, our continued research and optimization of the degradation process will ensure that our enzyme is a viable and competitive product in the textile market.

Financial Projection

This graph illustrates the break-even point for our TfCut2 enzyme packs, highlighting the exact sales volume required to recover both fixed and variable costs within the first year of operation. The total fixed cost is $111,019 USD annually, reflecting expenses such as manufacturing setup, equipment, and labor that remain constant regardless of output. In addition, each unit incurs a variable cost of $118.55 USD, while the selling price per pack is $150 USD, generating a contribution margin of $31.45 per unit. As shown, the cost curve (blue) initially rises steeply due to these fixed costs, whereas the revenue curve (red) increases steadily with every unit sold. The two lines intersect at a sales volume of approximately 3,530 enzyme packs, corresponding to a break-even sales value of $529,502 USD. At this threshold, total revenue fully offsets total costs, but no profit is realized. Beyond this point, every additional unit sold contributes directly to profit. Achieving this milestone within one year establishes the financial feasibility of the project and provides a critical foundation for scaling up enzyme commercialization.

Our future strategy focuses on expanding the implementation and accessibility of our Textile Fighter system. We aim to transition from lab-scale success to broader field deployment through continued partnerships with recycling companies, fashion brands, NGOs, and local governments. Our next steps include conducting field trials to validate enzyme performance on real-world textile waste, building partnerships for enzyme production at scale, and licensing the system for commercial integration.

We also plan to explore regional rollouts across areas with high textile waste volumes and limited recycling infrastructure. Collaborations with educational institutions and environmental networks will help foster community awareness and technical adaptation. Ultimately, our roadmap leads to a globally distributed model where communities, brands, and cities can use biological recycling to convert textile waste into reusable resources—reaching our goal of enabling circular fashion through synthetic biology.

Our long-term vision is to build a globally deployable enzyme solution that closes the loop on fashion waste. By transforming blended textile waste into reusable resources, we empower industries and communities to build a cleaner, circular textile economy grounded in synthetic biology. In the long run, this shift could dramatically reduce global textile waste, cut carbon emissions from incineration, and set a new industry standard for sustainable material recovery.

Product development plan:

Phase 1: Concept Validation (Year 1)

We begin by validating TfCut2 wild-type and engineered mutants on PET-cotton blends under controlled pretreatment conditions. Performance is benchmarked against leading enzymes such as LCC, HiC, and PETase, measuring PET weight loss, TPA/EG yield, and cotton recovery. Prototype enzyme formulations are developed in multiple formats (powder, liquid, immobilized beads). By late Year 1, proof-of-concept data is leveraged to approach industrial partners. Shinkong Synthetic Fibers, for example, has demonstrated strong commitments to circular economy practices in its sustainability reporting (Shinkong Synthetic Fibers, 2024), while its strategic alliance with Loop Industries underscores a growing industry emphasis on circular polyester yarns (Yahoo Finance, 2025). Similarly, Formosa Plastics Group's long-standing presence as a key materials provider positions it as an essential partner for integration into large-scale recycling workflows (Formosa Plastics Group, 2022). Early intellectual property filings on enzyme variants and degradation processes also establish protection and market readiness.

Phase 2: Optimization & Pilot Trials (Years 1-2)

Enzyme optimization focuses on improving thermostability, solvent tolerance, and immobilization methods for industrial reuse. Formulations are refined for cost-efficient storage and transport. Semi-industrial pilot trials are conducted with textile waste supplied by collaborators such as Shinkong/FENC and municipal waste handlers. These trials generate critical scalability data on throughput, dose efficiency, and reactor compatibility, positioning TfCut2 as the degradation “step” in recycling pipelines rather than a full recycling provider.

Phase 3: Industrial-Scale Readiness (Years 2-3)

Pilot bioreactor trials (10-100 kg capacity) expand testing on real waste streams from partners. Collaboration with CMOs and fermentation partners (Novozymes, Codexis, regional biotech CDMOs) enables enzyme scale-up. Key metrics such as enzyme stability, reuse cycles, and cost per kg textile degraded are validated in continuous operation. Downstream textile groups verify that TPA/EG outputs are compatible with reintegration into their workflows.

Phase 4: Market Launch & Regional Expansion (Years 3-5)

Commercial enzyme formulations for PET-cotton blends are launched in formats such as immobilized modules, bulk powders, or liquid concentrates. Initial sales target textile manufacturers, recyclers, and chemical processors who integrate degradation into their existing systems. Partnerships are broadened to include global recyclers (Veolia, SUEZ) and major fashion groups (Adidas, H&M, Uniqlo). Exclusive contracts with textile manufacturers secure long-term adoption, while fermentation capacity is scaled to 10,000 L+ bioreactors to meet demand.

Phase 5: Global Leadership & Diversification (Years 5-6)

By Year 5-6, TfCut2 is established as the global standard for PET-cotton blend degradation. Collaborations expand with international partners: Shinkong/FENC/Formosa as waste suppliers, Novozymes/BASF as enzyme production giants, and major apparel brands for sustainability adoption. Diversification efforts include enzyme cocktails (TfCut2 + cellulases) for one-step degradation of blended fabrics, ensuring broader applicability and cementing TfCut2's leadership in industrial enzymatic recycling.