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Writer: Anna Shi

Editor: Lily Fang
PWC You plus
October 12, y
Eco-friendly: Humans Benefit from Recycled Polyester Fabric in Globally Diverse Ways
This is a developed community.
Towering skyscrapers and extravagant residences are the Mount Everest of cities,
while the toppling forests mark the development of the rural countryside. With an
increasing population and advancing technology, humans’ thirst for more and more only
intensifies. They drain the Earth’s resources in a vain attempt to quench their desires
and, in the perpetual hunt for a better world, harm the planet that sustains them in
unforgivable ways.
One of the leading causes of this harm is the human desire for clothing. Many
choose to go with the trend and clear their wardrobe every month or so, discarding
garments that are out-of-fashion. From 2000 – 2015, twice as many clothes were sold.
However, the average number of times each was worn decreased by 36%, with 2.5
million tons of clothing recycled, over 3 million tons incinerated, and the rest – an
incredible 10 million tons – dumped into landfills, where they await their doom.
Incineration, along with the production of new clothes, releases large amounts of
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, making the fashion industry alone responsible
for 10% of the gases contributing to global warming (Porter).
To make matters worse, humans weren’t satisfied with the materials they had.
Cotton, though biodegradable, is not resilient and tears easily. Companies wanted to
produce sturdier fabrics, and, as reality proves, they were willing to ignore the risks.
They produced a fabric known as virgin polyester, created from large amounts of
petroleum. Virgin polyester also contains many harmful chemicals that, when handled
improperly, may pollute water sources and harm animals. However, it was sturdier and
brought companies many benefits with the price of releasing even more greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere.
Earth has only started to react to this release, with ice caps melting and icebergs
breaking, with a heat tide rewriting history’s highest temperature at 49.6 degrees
Celsius, with severer storms and typhoons (EPA.gov).
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How can humans continue to meet their clothing needs while making sure they
do not impact the globe too much? Can we ensure that the environment doesn’t pay for
our comforts while not dousing the fires of civilization?
As of right now, the best solution is recycled polyester fabrics, otherwise known
as rPET. Though a cousin of virgin polyester, it is a fabric made from recycled plastic bot
tles. Environmentally, it minimizes pollution by reducing the amount of plastic rotting
in landfills and putrefying in the oceans. In addition to benefiting the environment, it
also is a profitable resource for our civilization, as it has unique characteristics from
which humans are able to fully exploit and benefit.
There are many different types of polyester fabrics. Virgin polyesters are
produced using petroleum, which may increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. However, recycled polyester fabrics are produced by recycling plastic.
Otherwise known as rPET, recycled polyester fabric is a synthetic fabric woven from thre
ads of PET, a substance that directly comes from plastic in landfills (Edwina 2016). The
products made from recycled polyester fabrics benefit the environment because it is 100
% recyclable, and benefit humans because it has a wide range of distinct characteristics t
hat cotton and other natural fibers lack, including high environmental resistance and hi
gh elasticity (Recycler 2022) (Sanders 2022). On top of everything else, recycled polyest
er fabrics are much cheaper to manufacture, and greater amounts can be produced
within a given time as compared to other materials, such as cotton.
To thoroughly understand the benefits recycled polyester fabrics can introduce to
our lives, it is of top priority to make the process by which it is manufactured known to
the general public. It all begins with bottles from all around, collected and transported
to specific factories. Then they are sorted, sterilized, dried, and crushed into smaller
fragments known as chips (Sanders 2022). These chips can withstand high
temperatures in spinnerets, where they are transformed into yarn. At this point, the
yarn is then proceeded, textured, dyed, and knitted to create recycled polyester fabric
clothing (Edwina 2016). Since it is made from recycled plastics, it improves
environmental conditions by reducing their flow into landfills and oceans.
Yet, others may think that recycled polyester fabrics don’t provide any other
advantages. Since they will still end up in trash piles and dumps, only in the form of
clothes instead of bottles, they still contribute to global warming and plastic pollution.
However, recycled polyester fabrics are 100% recyclable. On the other hand,
natural fibers, such as cotton and wool, cannot be reused in the same way as recycled
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polyester fabrics. Sometimes, they are not used at all and are left to decompose,
releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a kind of
greenhouse gas: a group of gases that includes carbon dioxide and water vapor, which
acts like a blanket around the Earth. However, nothing can bear to be smothered in
layer upon layer of a blanket, not even a planet. The excessive amounts of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere will certainly lead to the drastic consequences listed before.
Polyester fabrics reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as high as 20% as compared
to cotton (Hispano 2022) (Edwina 2016). This is accounted for the 99% of cotton plants
that require fertilizers to modify their seeds. Fertilizers, while providing nutrients for
the plants, may damage ecosystems during fertilizer runoff, a process in which minerals
from fertilizers, such as potassium and phosphorus, are carried away by rainwater into
large lakes or rivers. With this introduction of minerals, algae thrive. Eventually, a green
layer spreads across the entire surface, blocking sunlight, therefore ceasing life
underwater. In addition, more than 25% of cotton plants require insecticides, which
have been a major concern because it also causes a decline in important pollinators like
bees (Pizza 2022). Thus, by promoting polyester fabrics, we can minimize the effects of
such disasters to a certain degree, which will protect the environment.
Not only do recycled polyester fabrics benefit the environment, but it also brings
a wide range of beneficial properties to their consumers that are superior to those of
natural fibers. Properties of recycled polyester fabrics include durability, wrinkle-proof,
high resistance to environmental factors such as fire, water, and wind, et cetera. These
properties enable recycled polyester fabrics to be used in many ways, ranging from daily
products such as blouses to safety appliances such as water hoses in the fire department
(Recycler 2022) (Xing 2021). Their diverse uses are a few of the many reasons they are
economically favored.
Conducted research shows that most people buy new clothes every season or so,
and manufacturers will grasp that chance to increase profits. Using cheaper raw
materials to produce larger quantities of the same product is their ultimate desire, and
recycled polyester fabrics hit the bull’s eye. As compared to cotton, polyester is generally
cheaper and faster to produce; it uses fewer raw materials, which benefits both
manufacturers and customers (Recycler 2022). Furthermore, recycled polyester fabric is
a synthetic fiber, which means that it isn’t as affected by fluctuating market prices as
compared to natural fibers (Sanders 2022). Hence, recycled polyester fabrics cut down
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the amount of money and time spent on importing raw materials, creating greater
financial benefits for humans.
In modern society, many manufacturers have already acknowledged these
benefits and started to embed recycled polyester fabrics into their products. For
example, the company Adidas started using recycled ocean plastic in 2015, creating
beautiful products that are both fashionable and recyclable. Another company, Ecoalf,
invented a fashion trend called ocean yarn, which refers to a special type of material
made from plastics collected from the bottom of the oceans (Bell 2022). However, even
with the widely-acknowledged advantages of recycled polyester fabrics, not all
manufacturers are willing to use it as one of their cornerstones for their company.
Indeed, despite all the benefits, recycled polyester fabrics also have
shortcomings. In terms of environmental health, even though they are made from
recyclable plastics, they are still synthesized fibers, which means that they have high
resistance to biodegradation. In other words, they are especially hard to break down via
natural processes in ecosystems. Moreover, even though recycled polyester fabrics are
substantial, they come with rougher textures and lack breathability as compared to
natural fibers, which may cause extreme discomfort for people with sensitive skin
(Sanders 2022).
A possible solution to the discomforts one hundred percent recycled polyester
fabrics may bring is a fifty-fifty hybrid of the material and cotton. This combination
merges the advantages of both types of fibers: the breathability of cotton and the
elasticity of recycled polyester fabrics, resulting in more comfortable clothes textures
(Shirts in Bulk 2022).
Recycled polyester fabrics benefit both the environment and humans in diverse
ways. They are ecosystem-friendlier, cheaper, and quicker to produce compared to
natural fibers, but they are not the final solution to sustainable resources. As the
cogwheels of time shred the present into the past, technology becomes antique,
innovation loses its glamor. What we have is only a temporary solution, a stick in a dam,
and it is our responsibility, as citizens of the planet Earth, to join together in an endless
hunt for more sustainable resources and a better future.
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Works Cited
Bell, Jenny. “Recycled Polyester Fabric: Have These 10 Brands Found a Solution to Plastic
Pollution?” Goodmakertales.com, 22 Apr. 2022, https://goodmakertales.com/recycled-polyester-fabric-
10-brands/.
Everyday Recycler. “What Is Polyester?: Easy Beginners Guide to Recycled Polyester Fabric.”
Everyday Recycler, 12 Apr. 2022,
https://everydayrecycler.com/what-is-polyester/#The_Advantages_And_Disadvantages_Of_Polyester.
Huang, Edwina. “What's Recycled Fabrics?” Vivify Textiles,
https://www.vivifytextiles.com/blogs/news/whats-recycled-fabrics.
Krosofsky, Andrew. “How Does Polyester Impact the Environment? Is It Eco-Friendly?” Green
Matters, Green Matters, 11 Nov. 2020, https://www.greenmatters.com/p/is-polyester-eco-friendly.
Pizza, Angelica. “Your Cotton T-Shirt Isn't as Eco-Friendly as You Think.” Brightly, 8 Mar. 2022,
https://brightly.eco/environmental-impact-of-cotton/.
“Recycled Polyester Fabrics: Hispano Tex.” Hispano Tex | Recycled Fabrics, 13 July 2022,
https://hispanotex.com/recycled-polyester-fabrics/.
Sanders, William. “What Are the Pros and Cons of Polyester Fabric?” PalmGear,
https://www.palmgear.com/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-polyester-fabric/.
“What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Polyester Fabric?” Silver Bobbin, 14 Feb. 2021,
https://silverbobbin.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-polyester/.
“What Fabric Types Are the Most Durable.” Shirts In Bulk,
https://www.shirtsinbulk.com/blogs/articles/what-fabric-types-are-the-most-durable.
Wicker, Ruth Alden. “Why, Exactly, Is Polyester so Bad for the Environment?” Ecocult, 28 June
2022, https://ecocult.com/exactly-polyester-bad-environment/.