Today, biosynthetic materials represent only a fraction of global production, not because the innovation isn’t there, but because the systems needed to scale it aren’t. That’s where mass balance attribution (MBA) offers a promising solution.

How Mass Balance Attribution (MBA) Works

A chemical manufacturer introduces renewable raw materials such as agricultural waste or used cooking oil  into a production system that also handles traditional fossil based feedstocks. Both feedstock types pass through the same infrastructure and manufacturing processes, meaning that once converted into resin, they become chemically identical. The volume of renewable material entering the system is carefully tracked and documented through a verified accounting method that also considers process losses and conversion rates.

Using mass balance principles, the verified renewable input is then assigned to selected products. For example, if renewable feedstocks make up 30% of the total input, an equivalent proportion of the output can be classified as renewable-attributed. Within this project, that applies to biomass-attributed polyester (PET), although the same approach can also support other fibres, including nylon.

This does not mean every individual product physically contains renewable material; instead, the claim represents the proportion of renewable input allocated to that product batch. Importantly, the system is tightly monitored to ensure manufacturers cannot assign more renewable attribution than the renewable feedstock actually introduced, and certified allocations cannot be double counted elsewhere in the supply chain.

This is a collective effort to prove that biomass attributed PET can move through existing value chains with credibility, traceability and real impact.  This isn’t about future-state thinking. It’s about what we can implement now.

Alongside partners including BESTSELLER, Beyond Yoga, Levis Stauss & Co, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), Indorama Ventures, ISCC – The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification, UPM Biochemicals and Textile Exchange.

We are all collectively working to.

– Produce biomass-attributed resin and yarns
– Build a robust, cradle-to-grave GHG model
– Define what scalable implementation looks like
– Help shape the frameworks that will guide this transition

Alpine’s role will help bridge the gap between innovation and adoption, translating new inputs into yarns and fabrics that can be produced at scale, without compromising performance or integrity.

The real challenge isn’t creating better materials, It’s making them viable, available, and mainstream.

Find out more:

‍