Source: http://www.textilefabric.com
How would you respond if your child walked through the doorand asked, "How many soda pop bottles does it take to cover a sofa?"They are not setting you up for a silly punch line. Rather, the answer is nojoke. It takes approximately 200 bottles which otherwise would lie dormant in alandfill. Approximately nine billion plastic bottles are produced annually inthe U.S. Your child could probably even tell you this is enough to circle theearth 50 times. Sadly, about two-thirds of these bottles end up in a landfillor incinerator.
Recycled plastic bottles are now being transformed intofiber produced for the apparel and home furnishings industries. In 1993,Wellman, Inc., introduced EcoSpun, a revolutionary fiber made from 100 percentrecycled plastic soda, water and food containers. The United Nations awardedWellman with the first Fashion Industry Award for Environmental Excellence,effectively focusing worldwide attention on EcoSpun. Until EcoSpun, no companyhad developed desirable or appealing post-consumer recycled fibers for apparelmanufacturers. Since, the revolutionary new concept has fast become therecycling success story of our lifetime and is one of the most successful andimportant fiber introductions in this century.
These recycled fabrics are made from post consumer PETcontainers. Because these are primarily food containers, the raw materials usedto produce the plastic are rigorously controlled by the Food and DrugAdministration and thus considered exceptionally high quality plastic. To bemade into fabric, the bottles are cleaned, chopped, melted and then extrudedinto fibers.
Plastic-derived fabrics have superior insulating properties. Many of the end uses are fabrics and apparel for outdoor sporting activities. Infact, recycled fabrics were first introduced as outdoor apparel fabrics.Ongoing research has lead to broader applications in everything from thermalunderwear and knapsacks, to sweaters and socks. Mail order catalogs, such asL.L. Bean, Lands End, Campmor and Patagonia, commonly feature items made withrecycled fabrics.
From coast to coast, predominant retailers, such as Saks,Macy's, Paragon, Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, and WalMart, are carrying recycledapparel and home textiles and they're letting the consumer know they areenvironmentally conscious by carrying them. EcoSpun velvet, a sensuously smoothupholstery fabric, has recently been introduced to the home furnishings market,for example.
The message of EcoSpun and E.C.O. is that recycling nowextends far beyond simply stacking newspapers, metal cans and plastic bottlesin local recycling bins. With the growing prevalence of these fabrics hittingthe market, consumers are proving that recycling can be fashionable, literally,and that it is environmentally proactive to purchase products made of recycledmaterials.
So, the next time you empty a soda bottle, remember torecycle - you may be putting a little fizz in the fashions you wear tomorrow.
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