CO₂ treatment recolours polyester without stripping – study

FUKUI — Researchers at the University of Fukui in Japan have demonstrated a laboratory treatment that gives differently coloured polyester fabrics a uniform new shade without first removing their dyes.

The study used supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) to redistribute existing dyes between fabrics, potentially avoiding a dye-stripping stage in fibre-to-fibre recycling. No new dyes were added.