Natural Environment Blog

Recycled Polyester is a polyester that has been manufactured by using previously used polyester items. In the clothing world, recycled polyester clothes can be created from used clothes.

Polyester fibers made from recycled plastic containers (such as Fortrel Ecospun) are often referred to as recycled polyester too. However, in this article, I’m referring to polyester clothes made from other polyester clothes.

A company called Patagonia has become quite famous for it’s recycled polyester clothes. They have been able to create polyester garments using previously worn garments. They also started the world’s first garment recycling program - which enables customers to bring their used clothing back for recycling. Patagonia encourage customers to bring in their used Capilene baselayer, Patagonia fleece or Polartec^® fleece. The fabric of these items makes them suitable for recycling. Patagonia can create a new garment made from the recycled polyester.

Is Recycled Polyester Eco-Friendly?

Recycled polyester is not always eco-friendly. The “eco-friendliness” of recycled polyester depends on the recycling process, and the original polyester itself. Polyester is still a synthetic fabric, so it’s not going to be as organic as plant fibers such as hemp, bamboo, ramie etc.

Traditional polyester has potential health hazards and environmental issues that make it a lot less eco-friendly than it could be. A relatively new brand of polyester called Eco-Intelligent^® Polyester (launched in 2001) aims to overcome the health hazards and environmental issues inherent in traditional polyester.

As far as I’m aware, Eco-Intelligent Polyester is currently only available in upholstery and interior trade (not clothing etc).

Where can I buy Recycled Polyester products?

You may be able to find recycled polyester at your local clothing store. If you’re looking to purchase online, check out the Patagonia website.

Synthetic Polyester certainly isn’t a product known for it’s “eco-friendliness”. After all, it’s still synthetic and has traditionally been manufactured using a toxic process, which isn’t earth-friendly or healthy.

So, one would think that recycled polyester fixes all this, right?

Well, not quite. There’s a bit more to it than simply blurting out “hey, let’s recycle it!”. Recycling a toxic product like synthetic polyester will often result in more toxins being released into the air or water. Also, recycling traditional polyester actually downgrades the quality of the polyester. There’s a limit to the number of times it can be recycled before it’s value is gone and it ends up in landfill. Hardly eco-friendly.

A more eco-friendly polyester could change this though. For example, Eco-Intelligent^® Polyester, a registered trademark of Victor Innovatex, is a polyester that’s made using a more eco-friendly process, and using more eco-friendly ingredients. This has resulted in a polyester that can be recycled indefinitely, without losing it’s original quality.

Here’s a more detailed explanation:

Traditional Polyester

Traditional synthetic polyester has potential health hazards. This is because antimony is used during the manufacturing stage. Antimony is toxic to the heart, lungs, liver and skin, and manufacture of polyester produces a by-product called antimony trioxide. Over the long term, inhalation of antimony trioxide can cause chronic bronchitis and even emphysema. What’s more, the antimony trioxide mixes with the wastewater and you end up with toxic wastewater.

Recycling this class of polyester only exasperates things. The recycling process is a high-temperature process and you end up with antimony trioxide again. Plus, the recycling process actually results in a lower quality polyester. This is why the term “downcycling” is more appropriate than “recycling”. Over time, continued recycling leads to a polyester with less and less value - until it ends up in landfill.

While this is better than no recycling/(downcycling) at all, there’s definitely room for improvement.

Eco-Intelligent Polyester

With the inherent environmental and health issues related to traditional polyester recycling, the whole process needed to be redesigned. With the traditional method, the problem started with the original polyester. This is the first thing that needed to be changed. You may have heard the term “garbage in, garbage out”. Well, that term could also apply with recycling.

For the best recycling result, all ingredients of the original polyester should be healthy and environmentally friendly. Every ingredient needs to have the ability to be recycled into something of at least the same quality. That way, a new (and environmentally friendly) recycling process can be created that maintains the quality of the original product, and is friendly to the environment.

In 2001, a Canadian company called Victor Innovatex launched Eco-Intelligent Polyester. Victor Innovatex said their product was “environmentally sustainable”. This is because it can be recycled indefinitely. Any polyester that is produced from the recycling process should be able to maintain it’s original quality, no matter how many times it’s recycled.

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, Eco-Intelligent Polyester is currently only available in upholstery and interior trade (not clothing etc), but at least it’s a start.