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Ester Industries Secures 15,000 Tonnes Recycled Polyester Deal

• By  Textile Excellence
• August 15, 2026

Ester Industries is lining up demand before its recycled polyester plant is even operational.

Its 50:50 joint venture with Loop Industries, Ester Loop Infinite Technologies (ELITe), has secured a multi-year, non-binding Letter of Intent from a global sports and athletic brand to supply up to 15,000 tonnes of recycled polyester resin every year.

The commitment covers part of the capacity of ELITe’s upcoming facility in Bharuch, Gujarat, scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2028. It is the second major sports-brand commitment secured for the project, following an earlier agreement with Nike.

The message is hard to miss: global brands are already lining up for textile-to-textile recycled polyester.

ELITe’s planned facility at Nandida, Vagra, will use Loop Industries’ proprietary depolymerisation technology to process 100% polyester textile waste. Instead of mechanically recycling the material, the process breaks polyester waste down into its basic building blocks - dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) - which are then converted back into virgin-quality PET resin.

That opens the door to a genuinely circular polyester model, turning textile waste back into high-quality material for apparel and packaging.

And the project is moving. Land acquisition is expected to conclude within the next two to three months. Tata Consulting Engineers has completed the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED), while Toyo Engineering India has received the detailed engineering contract.

Initial resin testing and feedstock validation have also delivered positive preliminary results, with further qualification and supply-chain integration underway with global brands.

For Ester, the 15,000-tonne commitment is more than an offtake opportunity. It gives the upcoming plant something every large recycling project needs: visible demand before the first tonne rolls out.

With brands under growing pressure to increase recycled content and reduce dependence on fossil-fuel-based virgin polyester, ELITe is betting that the next big polyester opportunity will come not from making more, but from making new polyester out of old clothes.

For Ester, the 15,000-tonne commitment is more than an offtake opportunity. It gives the upcoming plant something every large recycling project needs: visible demand before the first tonne rolls out. With brands under growing pressure to increase recycled content and reduce dependence on fossil-fuel-based virgin polyester, ELITe is betting that the next big polyester opportunity will come not from making more, but from making new polyester out of old clothes.