By KHT Staff – Images via MuYu Towel FB page
Note: This is not sponsored content, although the company discussed did give free plastic-fishing-net-turned-towels to AmCham Kaohsiung mixer attendees in November 2025.
A Changhua-based textile maker has developed what it calls the world’s first towel woven entirely from chemically recycled fishing-net nylon — a process that Taiwan is one of only three countries able to perform.
Sun Jen Textile (伸仁紡織), a family-run firm whose roots stretch back to a postwar cotton mill in 1947, spent 9 years and a significant financial investment to perfect a 100-percent-recyclable nylon yarn sourced from abandoned nets in Taiwan’s surrounding waters. Company data show that manufacturing seven towels removes roughly one kilogram of waste gear from the ocean.
The product, introduced at a November Kaohsiung American Chamber of Commerce mixer, reflects broader efforts by Taiwan’s legacy textile industry to adapt to global sustainability demands. The Ocean Conservation Administration has awarded the company a silver rating for its environmental contribution, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration (經濟部國際貿易署) has listed the technology as an exemplary green product.
While the towels are the first item to reach consumers, Sun Jen says the same recycled fiber may be used in apparel and other textile applications as the company prepares for international expansion.
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According to Sun Jen Textile, manufacturing seven towels removes one kilogram of abandoned fishing nets from Taiwan’s surrounding waters.
The brand behind the product, MuYu Towel (沐羽毛巾), highlights five key features:
• absorbs 3.8× its weight in water
• has twice the water-uptake speed of cotton
• is quick-drying, with twice the evaporation rate of cotton
• is colorfast under regular bleaching
• is soft, skin-friendly, and low-allergen.
The products are available for sale in Taiwan via a website or from the MuYu Towel FB page.
