At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers have created an elastic yarn comparable to spandex in strength and stretchability. It is made entirely of polyethylene, which makes it easier to recycle: in an experiment, the yarn was melted down and made again ten times without losing strength.
You may be wondering: is clothing made of polyethylene actually comfortable to wear? Polyethylene itself is not new to textiles: fibers and fabrics made from it already exist and can cool the skin, wick away moisture, and resist stains. The new development adds elasticity to those properties — the material can be not only practical, but also comfortable to move in.
The main advantage of the technology is environmental. Ordinary fabrics with spandex are made of different fibers that are hard to separate. Here, a single material is used. In the future, compatible plastics could even be used to make hardware, allowing clothing to be recycled as a whole.
