China Polyester hot washed Flakes Factory

Nearly half of the world’s clothing is made of polyester and Greenpeace forecasts this amount to nearly double by 2030. Why? The athleisure trend if one of the main reasons behind it: an increasing number of consumers are look for stretchier, more resistant garments. The problem is, polyester is not a sustainable textile option, as it is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common type of plastic in the world. In short, the majority of our clothes come from crude oil, while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is calling for drastic actions to keep the world’s temperature to a maximum of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.

Polyester is a polyester fiber, which is a synthetic fiber made of polyester made by polycondensation of organic dibasic acid and dihydric alcohol.

Beverage companies are increasingly advocating a "healthy and burden-free" lifestyle, while paying more attention to environmental protection. In the past, there were Sprite green bottles that turned white, and now Coca-Cola has also come to promote the recycling of bottles made of waste plastics.

As you were reading this post, you may have wondered: is recycled polyester the only option when developing sustainable sportswear? What about natural fibres? Of the materials currently available on the market, natural fibres such as Merino wool or Tencel have similar properties to those of polyester. However, as of today, there is no natural fibre or treated natural fibre that has the moisture control of polyester (or polyamide) and can, therefore, be applied to high-performance sports textile.

Polyester - the most common form of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) - is a man-made, synthetic fibre derived from a chemical reaction between petroleum, air and water. It was patented in the 1940s. Since then, the use of polyester in the production of products such as industrial fabrics, furnishing and clothing has increased exponentially.

Compared with nylon yarn, recycled polyester yarn has a large market due to its low cost and good performance. There are many different varieties of recycled polyester fibers, such as ordinary fibers, hollow fibers, triangular fibers, flame-retardant fibers, etc., which are now generally used in the filler industry of furniture and toys, bedding, clothing industry, needle-punched cotton industry, and stitch-bonded fabrics industry, etc. Besides, the application field of recycled polyester yarn is similar to that of virgin polyester yarn. It is widely used in suspenders, shirts, skirts, children's clothing, silk scarves, cheongsam, ties, handkerchiefs, home textiles, curtains, pajamas, bows, gift bags, sleeves, fashion umbrellas, pillowcases, pillows, etc. It is most often used to produce textiles that require GRS certification, or used together with other type of yarn to manufacture core spun yarn or blended yarn.