Polyester I hardly knew ya December 29, 2012
Posted by truthspew in Uncategorized.Tags: clothing, fleece, manufacturing, plastic drink bottles, polyester, recyclable PET, technology
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So the other day Keyron brought home this nice fleece robe. I tried it on, nice and comfy. But immediately upon donning the robe I said “It’s polyester!”
You see, my ass has been clothed in nothing but cotton for a very long time. But this robe – dear non-existent deity it’s warm!
So I did some research on Polyester, or as it’s otherwise known PET or Polyethylene Terephthalate, the same thing plastic drink bottles are made from.
Then of course I got a pair of fleece pajama bottoms too. And they’re polyester too!
But the other fascinating thing about polyester/PET is that they recycle plastic bottles into polyester yarn and fabric. That part is so cool!
So it’s not the polyester leisure suit of old anymore. And if you’re interested in the process of how polyester fleece is made I suggest you read this.
I had no idea that plastic bottles were recycled into clothes. That’s pretty cool.
And it’s less energy intensive to recycle PET bottles to make polyester than it is to make raw stock.
Interesting stuff. I strongly prefer natural fibers, but some of the modern polyesters are acceptable. There’s a poly microfiber that’s actually quite nice. And yes, I too like that fleece. So warm and fuzzy! Though I despise knitting with polyester or acrylic yarn. It feels icky.
Like you, I am a fan of cotton clothing, but I too have a very soft, very warm, very comfy polyester robe. On a chilly night there’s nothing like it.