What is recycled polyester?
Polyester, in short, is plastic. Recycled polyester is polyester that is reused. This happens as follows: pieces of polyester are made into 'balls', from which small pellets are made. The pellets are broken down into polymers, which are made into 'polyester chips'. These can then be melted and woven into fibres to make new polyester fabric. The advantage of recycled polyester is that no new polyester (made from petroleum) is produced, which uses raw materials and energy and causes emissions. In addition, the waste mountain is reduced and/or the oceans are cleaner.
rPET: made from recycled PET bottles
One form of recycled polyester that you see a lot in the Sophie Stone collection is rPET: polyester made from recycled PET bottles. Bottles that are fished out of the sea or ocean and given a 2nd life in the form of yoga pants or raincoats. For example, the rain ponchos from Rainkiss and the yoga leggings from Girlfriend Collective are made from rPET.
Clothing made of recycled polyester
Het voordeel van (gerecycled) polyester is dat het erg elastisch is, snel droogt (handig voor sport- en zwemkleding) en volledig waterdicht kan zijn wanneer het gebruikt wordt voor bijvoorbeeld regenkleding. Daarnaast kreukt het niet, is het vormvast en sterk.
Voor kleding zoals blouses, shirts en pantalons heeft het i.v.m. duurzaamheid altijd onze voorkeur om geen polyester te gebruiken maar biologisch katoen, lyocell of linnen. Maar regen- en zwemkleding en panty's hebben de functionaliteit van polyester nodig. Voor deze categorieën vind je bij Sophie Stone dan ook items van gerecycled polyester.
Washing of (recycled) polyester
A disadvantage of clothes made of recycled polyester, polyester or other synthetic materials such as acrylic or nylon is that (plastic) micro-fibres are released during washing. These microplastics end up in surface water and the sea through the washing machine's drain. This is also called 'microwaste'. We wrote the blog Microwaste about it.
The good news is that microwaste can easily be prevented by washing synthetic materials in the Guppyfriend laundry bag, for sale at Sophie Stone. This laundry bag captures the microplastics and prevents them from ending up in the sea. It also protects your clothes, making them last longer. Double sustainability!
