- 3355 - - PLASTIC CLOTHES - how to save the environment? Textiles are these complex mixtures of different materials like cotton, polyester, spandex, nylon, and acrylic In 2018, 11,300,000 tons of textile mixtures waste ended up in landfills.
------------- 3355 - PLASTIC CLOTHES - how to save the environment?
- Fast fashion industry is reliant on these textiles. In June 2021 more than 80% of some offerings on websites contained new plastic in them, and despite recent media attention, clothing companies are still slow to adopt truly “recycled garments” into their product lines.
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- While there are clothes made from recycled polyester, calling them “recycled” is a bit disingenuous, in fashion, most polyester recycling pulls the plastic from water bottles, not clothing.
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- And according to “Ambercycle“, the mechanical method of recycling textiles, where they are ripped to shreds and re-used, can’t untangle those complex mixtures and shortens the fibers, which limits their reuse value.
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- Deploying a different, form of recycling, one that separates materials at the molecular level. It’s called “chemical recycling“, and the technique allows Ambercycle to pull plastic fibers from textiles, leaving the fibers unharmed and ready to be used in new clothes.
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- For the past 4,000 years, our clothing has been mostly one material, cotton. In the 12th century, those clothes were recycled into paper. But growing populations with new and unique needs required different types of textiles.
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- In the mid-1900s, fully synthetic textiles nylon and polyester burst onto the scene, emerging from chemistry labs to compete with materials which have clothed humanity for centuries, that is cotton, wool, silk.
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- Polyester is a type of plastic, and is usually derived from petroleum. They’re resilient fibers, relatively inexpensive and reliable. Whereas cotton and other natural fibers may be a little bit more vulnerable to availability or weather conditions and climate change.
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- The synthetic fibers which can be so damaging to the environment ironically help us explore that environment. Synthetic fibers are lightweight but strong, and they add stretch and moisture-wicking properties popular in technical clothing, active wear, and underwear.
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- Polyester itself is cheap, resilient and low maintenance, it was first marketed to the American public by highlighting its anti-wrinkle properties. And since its parabolic popularity in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, polyester has evolved into a versatile fabric.
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- By 2004, polyester had overtaken cotton in popularity. It accounted for a little over half of the world’s fiber production in 2019, with 58,000,000 metric tons of the material produced. Recycled polyester accounted for only 14% of that massive market in 2019.
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- The lack of recycled polyester material could be because it’s often blended with cotton and other natural fibers to increase their durability. In terms of being able to recycle it and pull those materials apart for different recycling streams, it’s impossible at the moment.
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- Purifying and separating polyester from blended textile waste textiles on their last thread are gathered by Ambercycle from donation organizations, businesses, government collaborators even plucked from a dumpster. All of their hardware like zippers and buttons are removed, and the textiles are shredded.
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- The shredded material goes through a series of reactors, where chemical processes separate the polyester from natural materials, dyes, and whatever other components make up the fabric. The process leaves behind that cellulose waste, which is picked up to be recycled or regenerated by Ambercycle’s partners.
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- The difficult-to-recycle dyes can be burned for energy, but the company says it is actively seeking more ways to work with the waste. The leftover, refined polyester is then purified and made into pellets, which Ambercycle calls “cycora“.
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- The cycora pellets are spun into fibers, made into clothes, and hopefully can go through this life cycle again and again, leading to a circular fashion economy.
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- Ambercycle is actively seeking ways to ensure cycora clothes are recycled, including digital passports that can provide customers with information on what to do with their clothing when it’s past its life.
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- Cheap and readily available fast fashion, and the synthetic fibers it’s made from, is unlikely to shrink in scale. Clothes containing polyester and similar fibers are only going to increase their market share at an even faster rate.
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- Within the next three years they hope to be producing 50,000 tons per year of cycora. An ecosystem for infinite textiles, where materials like polyester are removed from the cycle of waste and reused, over and over.
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- Clothes are one of these things that literally touches every single person.
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November 25, 2021 3355
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--------------------- --- Saturday, November 27, 2021 ---------------------------
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