Comparison between Virgin polyester and Recycled polyester

How can the production of recycled polyester play its role in safeguarding the environment in today's world?

Polyester is an artificial fabric produced utilizing petrochemicals such as dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol. But contrary to polyester, recycled virgin polyester is produced utilizing commodities composed of polyethylene terephthalates such as polyester fabrics and plastic bottles. The fabrics are reconstituted at a molecular level during the polyester recycling procedure. Many differences do not exist between recycled polyester and virgin polyester qualities. The majority of the recycled polyester's mechanical attributes, such as performance, tensile strength, durability, and benefits, are like that of recycled virgin polyester.

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Apart from that, the procedure of polyester recycling consumes lesser resources than the resources consumed during the production of recycled virgin polyester. As no new petrol and other raw substance are needed to produce the recycled fabric, there is a decrease in the demand for resources which cuts down the end commodity's entire carbon footprint. Also, rather than entering the landfills, the polyethylene terephthalate bottles are recycled, decreasing the pollution and waste from the atmosphere. It has been assessed that reusing polyester fabric lowers around seventy-five percent of the carbon dioxide emissions compared to virgin polyester production. This tells us that the environmental impact of recycled polyester is lower than virgin polyester.

Several kinds of research have proved that the garments or textiles composed of recycled polyester could be repeatedly recycled without influencing the properties and qualities of this fabric. If the entire polyester producing industry does this recycling, then the polyester can be reused and recycled for a much longer period developing a closed-loop system. The closed loop system is an essential practice for the adoption of a sustainable production system.

The benefits of using recycled polyester

Firstly, since polyester accounts for more than half of the fabrics utilized in the apparel and textile industry- replacing this fabric with its recycled version will instantly help cut down dependence on fossil fuels. The establishment of a famous non-virgin version would positively affect the energy needs in the upcoming times. This would play a crucial role in helping businesses decrease greenhouse gas emissions throughout the supply chain.

Secondly, recycled polyester helps decrease the fashion sector's seismic waste, which disposes of forty-eight million metric tons of garments yearly. It is instinctive to find value in wastage and boost positive recycling behaviors. It also introduces sustainable fabrics' creative possibilities to buyers. Another advantage is that the carbon footprint of recycled polyester is lower than the carbon footprint of virgin polyester. Research conducted in 2017 found that producing recycled polyester produces seventy-nine percent more carbon emissions than its virgin version. So utilizing recycled polyester helps garment designers fulfill their climate targets. Transforming plastic into cloth works as an essential way to help cut down the eight million thousand kilograms of plastic that are dumped into the seas every year. This could help safeguard underwater wild animals and marine ecosystems that are often threatened by plastic pollution.

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How is recycled polyester produced?

Chemically, recycled polyester is like virgin polyester produced from crude oil. The main difference is that recycled polyester is made from the substance already available in the atmosphere, not virgin plastic. Therefore, several people encompassing some well-reputed green organizations view it as more sustainable. Makers make recycled polyester by carrying out the collection of the existing substance and then dissolving it down into tiny flat pellets.

The application of mechanical action and heat lets businesses weave rejected plastic products into threads that they could sift through machinery to produce garments. To do so, designers use machines in which the procedure of applying heat and mechanical action takes place. By using this machinery, producers turn wrapping materials, food packets, and old bottles into a confetti-like substance throughout the plastic shredding procedure, turning conventional one-use plastic waste into clothing products that can survive for several years. The fantastic thing about recycled polyester is that designers do not need to produce it by using existing polyester. In fact, it could be produced by a process using any polyethylene terephthalate containing plastics products.

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This process is extremely effective too. Garment producers can turn five conventional soda bottles into a t-shirt, providing their consumers with garments that could survive for more than half a decade. Some businesses declare that they use the plastic collected from consumer wastage( due to the pictures that we have of landfills full of soda bottles). But in reality, the majority of plastic used for recycling polyester garments is produced by industrial designing. Recycling this kind of polyethylene terephthalate is much easier than consumer versions. There is far less pre-processing needed, and it is inclined to be much more standardized, letting fashion product producers produce more constant results.