<p>With demand predicted to increase of Polylactic acid (PLA) textiles in recent years, transformation of PLA textiles to the highly value-added chemicals is particularly urgent. To address this issue, the depolymerization of PLA textiles by methanolysis is a valuable chemical recycling strategy. However, owing to the complexity of the composition and structure of colored PLA textiles, examples of catalytic depolymerizations for the methanolysis of colored PLA textiles are rare. The aim of this study is to optimise and systematically evaluate the application of CH₃ONa-promoted methanolysis in a complex and practically challenging system. In order to evaluate Furthermore, excellent tolerance was found in large-scale depolymerization for colored PLA textiles using dyeing machine and PLA/cotton blended textiles. Unlike previous research primarily focused on the depolymerization of pure PLA model compounds, the novelty of this work lies in addressing the chemical recycling challenges of colored PLA textiles containing commercial dyes and PLA/cotton blended fabrics—a more realistic scenario than treating pure PLA.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>