Fabric from bottle? Is that even possible? Yes. That’s right. Completely sustainable fiber can also be obtained by recycling plastic bottles. Interestingly, the rate of environmental pollution is relatively low in the recycling of such species and the processing power is also relatively low. The use of marine plastic waste in making jerseys in India and Sri Lanka has worked behind its widespread popularity. Also recently a jersey of the IPL franchise has been made from marine plastic waste. Originally, the idea of protecting the marine environment from pollution started with the idea which has gained wide popularity and has been able to get a great response.
Now your question may be how do we get fibre from plastic bottles or will the quality of the fabric obtained through it be wasted? The answer is yes. The most important thing is that plastic bottle waste usually does not return to the environment. Therefore, the rate of environmental pollution of such wastes is always higher. Recycling can be a sustainable solution. And the most effective solution, in this case, is to convert plastic into fibre.
So let’s talk about the process. As we know, manmade or cream fibres are mainly made from polyester, v nylon, v acrylic, rye, polypropylene, viscose. v 80% of the cream fibre comes from polyester. Polyester is mainly used in the textile manufacturing process.
PET (polyethene terephthalate) is also used in making bottles or similar plastic products. These national polyesters are collected from overseas or abandoned sites and are later melted down and converted into yarn following the proper process of recycling. Yarn made from rPET polyester i.e. recycled polyester has the same quality as yarn made from virgin polyester or PET.
The process of reprocessing can take 2 ways. Mechanically or chemically. In this case, through polymerization in a chemical process, the polymer is broken down into small units from which it is subsequently converted into fiber. It is noteworthy that the cost of this process is very high. So in this case the mechanical process is the most acceptable.
In the field of mechanical processes, raw material is first collected and sent to the factory. The next step is to separate the waste parts from the bottle or plastic bottle waste cap, level. Then the plastics are changed into small pieces or chips. These are then washed and melted. The next step is to prepare the fibre from this molten plastic bottle. Another thing to note in this case is that every raw material used here is suitable for use in the textile industry and the fibre produced also maintains its quality.
PET is also economical (66 ml/kg) in terms of energy consumption in the manufacturing process. On the other hand, the amount of carbon emissions is less than other manmade or cream fibre which is 5.19 kg/tonne. It can be said that every mother of sustainability keeps it intact.
Let’s come to the market. Plastic bottle making has been around in the United States since 1993. Recycled denim has been used in Armani Jeans EcoProject since 1995. Abandoned plastic bottles have been used in national waste. India’s 2015 World Cup kit was made from 33 plastic bottles, of which 15 were recycled for jerseys and only 16 for pants.
The market for recycled plastics was. 23.17 billion in 2016, which is expected to grow to. 34.54 billion by 2025.
Some statistics give an idea of how affordable fiber made from plastic bottles can be. It is possible to save a full gallon of gasoline from 2 kg of rPET yarn for fabric making which can reduce the amount of carbon emissions as well as save a lot of water which is equivalent to 5 days of edible water for an adult.
Interestingly, rPET recycling can save up to 3 hours of energy on a 60 watt bulb. Various studies suggest that the use of rPET can save 33% to 55% of energy, which is much more economical than virgin polyester. A T-shirt from rPET can store up to 26 liters of water and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 54%. These fabrics also weigh less than other fabrics. Where a T-shirt made from rPET weighs 65-906 grams. That is affordable in all respects.
Now we will see which brands in the world market produce fabric from recycled plastic bottles.
Ecoalf – This is a Spanish fashion brand that produces sustainable fabrics from recycled plastics. Abandoned pet waste such as discarded fishing nets, discarded plastic bottles, discarded wires etc.
Gucci – This is the first fashion brand to produce 100% nylon yarn from recycled fishing nets. Since 2015, the brand has been producing various fabrics or textile products from recycled plastic.
Bethany Williams – This is a UK Vivic brand that produces 100% sustainable fabrics and as part of that they also make fabrics from recycled plastics.
Doodlage – This is an Indian brand that makes sustainable and eco-friendly fabrics where various natural fibers as well as recycled plastic bottle waste are an important part.
Re; Code – This is a Korean brand whose main purpose is to create a different story for each product instead of turning it into discarded waste.
Girlfriend Collective – This is a Taiwanese brand that manufactures work materials from discarded plastic bottles, fishing nets, etc.
Veja – This is a French company that produces B mesh or bottle mess. It is well known for producing different types of footwear. They produce such products from discarded bottles.
Patagonia – This brand produces eco friendly products who have been recycling discarded pet bottles since 1993.
Mara Hoffman: This is an Omens brand that makes fashionable fabrics through a recycled process, the most important part of which is recycled plastic.
Elle Evans – This is Melbourne Vivic, Australia, a brand of swimwear or swimwear that produces sustainable and eco-friendly swimwear. Recycled plastics are an important raw material in the production of this brandy’s swimwear.
Also, for the first time, a Bangladeshi factory called Mumanu Polyester Industries Ltd manufactures fabrics from recycled plastic bottles. Also in Bangladesh: At present more than 30 factories produce fashionable fabrics through recycling process.
If you are talking about sustainable fiber, the first name will be recycled polyester or rPET. Demand for this specialty has grown significantly as a result of recent corporate scandals. This fiber is able to keep every quality of sustainability intact. Another important aspect is that a concept called “slaughter loop” shows that it is possible to recycle plastic yarn repeatedly. Which further enhances its acceptability. However, the sad fact is that this process has not yet become so prevalent in our factories. There are definitely some limitations. However, eliminating them will greatly increase productivity as well as enable our factories to achieve greater sustainability.
