What's in your coat?
And when I say what's in your coat, I mean what is your coat really made out of? Especially when it's made of recycled materials?
I have wondered this very thing, so I figured I wasn't the only one and thought I would take a minute to explain the process a bit further. When I say the process, I will focus on how recycled polyester (rPet) fabric is made from post-consumer plastic bottles. Isn't it interesting that we could be wearing a water bottle or a diet coke bottle we drank out of and recycled?
I have wondered this very thing, so I figured I wasn't the only one and thought I would take a minute to explain the process a bit further. When I say the process, I will focus on how recycled polyester (rPet) fabric is made from post-consumer plastic bottles. Isn't it interesting that we could be wearing a water bottle or a diet coke bottle we drank out of and recycled?
How does it work?
Here's the shortened version: After you finish a plastic bottle and put it in your recycling container, it gets picked up and brought to container deposit collections. It then gets collected and sorted, down to the color, and then is "...transported to ‘the recycling plant, where the material is cleaned and chopped up into small flakes." (1) These flakes are then melted down into strings of fiber and then woven together to create sheets of fabric. The fabric is then dyed to the desired color and then turned into items such as clothing, car mats, insulation, pillow stuffing, etc.
Below are pictures of the process. (2) ⤵️
Why is this important? There are several reasons but I'm going to focus on the amount of post-consumer plastic bottles that are used to make fabric and how we can keep them out of our oceans and landfills by upcycling them in our clothing and jackets.
From my research, many coats take anywhere from 25-35 plastic bottles to make enough polyester for one jacket. Think about that. Take an average of 30 plastic bottles per jacket, and let's say the brand is placing an order of 1,000 black coats. That is 30,000 plastic bottles that are prevented from going into the ocean, and out of our landfills, and that's just one brand & one color of one style. Imagine if all brands started doing this for all of their product lines and how much plastic we could prevent from going into our oceans! 🤯
We were in Hawaii a few months ago and we walked by a little marina in Oahu where you could see all of the plastic and garbage that had washed up and gotten stuck in this marina. It deeply saddened me. And it solidified why we have focused and will continue to focus on using recycled materials as part of our mission.
Here at Arctic Wave, we are committed to only using this type of polyester to do our small part in helping the environment. Want to see our products? Shop www.arcticwaveco.com!
Thanks for being here; until next time!
