Textile recycling companies aim to reduce, reuse and recycle
Reduce, reuse, recycle. This mantra has also driven myriad sustainability efforts, including in textile recycling companies. Recycling textiles is important because the industry produces billions of pounds of unused materials each year, relies on fossil fuels to make virgin plastics, and has a mandate to recycle polyester and other materials to keep them from polluting the environment. Given the diverse imperatives, it makes sense that there are many ways to recycle textiles. As a leader in the textile recycling space, SAYA has programs that reduce, reuse, and recycle. More, we believe in highlighting other successful efforts undertaken by industry partners.
Rolls of overstock fabric available for recycling
Reduce
Reducing may present some of the biggest challenges to sustainability efforts as manufacturers work to identify processes that reduce the amount of toxic chemicals in fiber and material production.
Another option for reduction in the manufacturing process: water. The textile industry uses billions of liters of water throughout all steps, from dyeing to chemical finishes. By developing ecologically friendly dyes and creating water-free finishing, textile recycling companies have established new approaches that benefit both the environment and environmentally-aware consumers.
SAYA RSCUW Raw is material made from recycled fabric cutting scrap and PET bottles that does not bleach or re-dye the material. The resulting knit has a unique heathered effect in shades of grey to nearly black. The process also significantly improves energy efficiency and reduces the carbon footprint of recycled polyester fabric.
Reuse
Reusing clothing and cutting scraps from factory floors has grown popular within the textile industry. Zero Waste Daniel turns clothing scraps into fashion. Patagonia and The North Face have programs to recruit and refurbish used clothing and gear for resale. Eileen Fisher asks consumers to return clothing they would otherwise throw out; clothing that can be resold will be, and clothing that cannot is turned into “something entirely new” through the company’s circular by design program. Cotopaxi sews gear out of left over fabric yardage. And SAYA collects cutting room scrap and leftover yardage for our innovative recycling program.
Recycle
Recyclingplastic, polyester, PET, and other man-made materials is a complex process. Recycling technical textiles relies on the use of chemicals and heat. For example, to transform plastic bottles into fabric, bottles are collected, separated into clear and colored bottles, and shredded. Next, the shredded plastic is heated and forced through tiny holes in an extruder to create long, continuous fibers. These fibers are then torn into shorter pieces. The fibers are balled (resembling wool). Next they are carded and spun into yarn.
Plastic recycling center
By reducing, reusing, and recycling, the textile industry and SAYA can lower its carbon footprint, help safeguard the environment, and meet consumer demand.
To share your thoughts on how the textile industry can become more sustainable or to learn more about SAYA fiber, please contact us at change@sayarenew.com
It is nearly impossible to imagine a world without polyester. Polyester or recycled polyester is used to make synthetic fabrics, industrial fibers, yarns, and ropes used in everything from car tire reinforcements to conveyer belts. It is in cushions and quilts, upholstery, and more. Given how essential polyester is in modern life, it is hard to believe it is less than one hundred years old.
What is Recycled Polyester and Why Should We Use It?
Since its widespread adoption for myriad uses, polyester has revolutionized how we build, insulate, protect, and transport materials. It’s a mighty material whose evolution from an accidental discovery in a laboratory to a galvanizing force for innovative, large scale recycling. So, what, exactly, is it?
Spools of recycled polyester fiber
History of Polyester
Polyester was discovered by scientist W.H. Carothers in a DuPont lab in 1926. Carothers discovered that alcohols and carboxyl acids could be mixed to create synthetic fibers, but his work on polyester was shelved so that he could focus on nylon. A decade later, British scientists John Winfield and James Dickson continued Carothers’s work, and by 1941, the two patented polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyester was officially born. By 1950, DuPont, an American company, had acquired all the legal rights to polyester, producing the fiber Dacron, followed soon after by Mylar. In the 1950s, polyester was marketed as a miracle fabric: it was durable and did not wrinkle. For about two decades, polyester enjoyed widespread popularity. However, by the 1970s, polyester fabrics had developed a reputation for being uncomfortable and potentially harmful to the environment. Since then, manufacturers have improved polyester yarns used in clothing to improve comfort. More, polyester fibers remain widely popular and used in a vast range of applications. And major advances in the technology to recycle polyester have made the material’s production more sustainable.
Inventors of polyester: John Winfield and James Dickson
How Polyester is Made
Polyester (polyethylene terephthalate, or PET) is a man-made fiber derived from petroleum, air, and water. Essentially a plastic, polyester is made by mixing ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. Polyester fibers are formed through a chemical reaction where two or more molecules combine to make a large molecule whose structure repeats throughout its length. Polyester fibers can form very long, stable, and strong molecules.
Model of molecular structure of polyester fibers
Common Uses for Polyester
It is easier to say what polyester is not used for than what it is. That’s because polyester can be found in almost every element of modern life. Some of polyester’s most common uses include:
Some of polyester’s most common uses: Upholstery fabric, luggage, threads and yarns, hosiery, sportswear, food and beverage containers
Recycled Polyester
Demand for recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or polyester, has increased significantly in recent years. There are many advantages to recycled polyester, including reduced energy consumption in the manufacturing process as compared to producing virgin polyester; reduced CO3 emissions, and reduced extraction of crude oil and natural gas to make virgin plastic. There are two techniques for producing recycled polyester: mechanical recycling and chemical recycling.
Opportunities for Polyester
SAYA is dedicated to innovating polyester recycling technology to reduce waste, drastically decrease the use of fossil fuels in polyester production, and to create a more sustainable approach to manufacturing polyester. Because polyester is an essential fiber used throughout modern society, leveraging opportunities to recycle polyester is paramount. A sampling of SAYA innovations include:
Bedding such as sheets, comforters, and sleeping bags
Footwear
Fillings for comforters (due to its insulating properties)
Sewing threads
Soft furnishings and upholstery
Textiles
Luggage and other bags
Industrial polyester fibers are also used in conveyor belt fabrics, seat belts, plastic reinforcements, and more.
Plastic bottles and containers for food and liquids
· Rscuw Next, which provides a renewal solution for offcuts and rolls of fabric that don’t make it into the garment.
· SAYA Garma, a complex recycling process of pre and post-consumer garments that will streamline garment recycling by offering turnkey retail to fiber solutions. Estimated availability: late 2021.
In its relatively short life, polyester has undergone several important iterations. This strong, durable, and enduring fiber has gone from creating leisure suits to ubiquity. As we look to the polyester of the future, recycling and other innovations will play an important role.
To share your thoughts on recycled polyester or to learn more about SAYA fiber, please contact us at change@sayarenew.com
As the technology of mechanical and advanced recycling improves, recycled polyester and plastics stand to eventually replace virgin materials in manufacturing.
Demand for recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or recycled polyester, has increased significantly in recent years. There are many advantages to recycled polyester, including reduced energy consumption in the manufacturing process as compared to producing virgin polyester; reduced CO2 emissions, and reduced extraction of crude oil and natural gas to make virgin plastic. There are two techniques for producing recycled polyester: mechanical recycling and chemical recycling also known as advanced recycling.
As the technology improves, recycled polyester and plastics stand to eventually replace virgin materials in manufacturing.
Mechanical versus Chemical Recycling
Mechanical recycling involves shredding recycled PET bottles and pressing the flakes into consistently shaped pellets that are melted and extruded into recycled polyester fiber. Mechanical recycling requires no chemicals, save for detergents to clean the original recycled material, but the process can weaken the fiber which then must be mixed with virgin fiber to result in acceptable strength. To date, mechanical recycling is the most affordable and widely used process to produce recycled polyester.
Shredding recycled PET bottles is an initial steps in the mechanical recycling process recycling plastic.
Chemical recycling uses a chemical process to break down PET products into their molecular parts so that they can be reformed into a yarn of equal strength. Unlike mechanical recycling, the quality of the chemically recycled polyester remains consistent and does not degrade its performance. However, chemical recycling is currently more expensive than the alternative and must be scaled up to achieve more widespread adoption.
Advanced Recycling Technologies
In addition to chemical recycling, or depolymerization, industry experts are constantly investigating new and innovative methods for recycling plastics. The industry refers to these technologies as “Advanced Recycling Technologies,” a term established by the American Chemistry Council (ACC). According to the ACC, the term advanced recycling accomplishes two things: it identifies technologies that go deeper into the polymer than the mechanical recycling process and it also confirms that these processes are, indeed, a form of recycling, even though they differ from traditional recycling. There are three main methods of advanced recycling:
Purification, which use a solvent or chemical to precipitate the polymer out of a solution, leaving behind colorants, additives, and other contaminants. Some of the most common types of purification include solvent extraction and chromatography. Pros: Purification results in a clean and clear polymer and removes contaminants, colorants, and additives. This results in a recycled product that has many of the characteristics of virgin polymers. Cons: Purification does not restore the polymer to its virgin molecular level, which means that it retains the heat history of melting and remelting and can alter the molecular weight and viscosity of the plastic. Purification is also more energy intensive than mechanical recycling, but less than chemical recycling.
Depolymerization, which breaks the chemical bonds in the complex chains that make up polymers. In this process, additives and colorants are separated from chemicals and monomers, the latter of which can be put back into reactors to make a recycled polymer identical to its virgin counterpart. Pros: The recycled polymer is identical to its virgin counterpart. Cons: Thetechnology is not currently operating at scale, and when it does, there will be a need for massive quantities of materials to be recycled than are currently available. Also, the technology currently has a higher environmental footprint than mechanical recycling.
Conversion reprocesses plastic products into other sellable, tradable commodities. Pros: Once proven and scaled, conversion technology could prevent massive amounts of plastics from ending up in landfills or the world’s oceans. Cons: Not every repurposed product can be considered recycled. To meet the standard of being recycled, the new product must be reprocessed into materials instead of fuels or energy.
Recycling plastic through mechanical or chemical processes can keep polymers out of our natural environment
Even though these technologies are still emerging and innovating, recycling plastic is preferable to using virgin components. The most common way to recycle plastic is through mechanical recycling, but that process degrades the product’s quality over time. Chemical recycling preserves the quality of the original material but is expensive and has a larger environmental footprint. Nevertheless, manufacturers are demanding more recycled materials, which is driving innovation and allowing producers to scale up current technologies. Eventually, recycling plastics will allow us to keep polymers out of trash streams and will allow us to continue to produce necessary and valuable products without using virgin materials.
To share your thoughts on recycled polyester or to learn more about SAYA fiber, please contact us at change@sayarenew.com
SAYA employee gathering fabric scrap for recycling in an effort to reduce the business carbon footprint
Recycled Fabric Made of Cutting Scrap
For decades, most recycled fabric was made from plastic bottles. Now, SAYA has a new source for producing recycled fabric: garment cutting scraps. Through its innovative Rscuw Project, SAYA turned to the garment industry where around 30% of fabric is wasted during the manufacturing process. Historically, recycling these scraps was not possible. But SAYA’s commitment to fostering a more sustainable textile industry has resulted in an exciting recycled PET fabric solution to the garment industry’s overstock and scrap cutting problem.
Multi-step Saya Rscuw Project fabric recycling process
9 Steps to Turn Cutting Scraps into Recycled PET Fabric
Transforming cutting scraps into recycled polyester using our proprietary technology is a complex process with multiple steps. These include:
1. Collect 100% polyester scraps and fabric overruns from garment industry partners. Currently we can only use scraps without coatings or finishings, but are working diligently to develop the ability to also recycle polyester with WR or DWR finishes.
SAYA employee gathering fabric scrap for recycling in an effort to reduce the business carbon footprint
2. Shred the fiber into tiny scraps.
3. Decolorize the shredded fabric to remove color and impurities, including bacteria. Decolorization requires heating the shredded fabric at temperatures near 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Create chips, or pellets, that are uniform in color and size from the melted scraps.
5. Blend Rscuw chips with chips from recycled PET bottles to ensure high-quality end product. Currently, blends average 15% Rscuw chips and 85% recycled plastic bottle chips. As the technology improves, we anticipate increasing the amount of Rscuw chips.
6. Ship SAYA chips to yarn facilities for extrusion, the process of forcing the liquid melted chips through the tiny holes of a spinneret to form continuous filaments of semi-solid polymer.
7. The material is spun and stretched into high quality yarns that can range from micro denier (50D) to 300D referred to as partially oriented yarn ready for texturing.
8. The partially oriented yarn is then drawn and texturized with performance enhancements including stretch or antimicrobial treatments as desired by brand customers.
9. Bleaching and dyeing process. Customers of Rscuw Raw choose to skip this step, which reduces the production’s carbon footprint by approximately 30%. Rscuw Raw retains the hue of the original scrap fabric and has a heathered look.
Benefits
Historically, most recycled polyester has been made from recycled plastic bottles, but the reliability of that source could diminish due to low recycling rates in the United States and the challenges of collecting discarded bottles for recycling. SAYA’s Rscuw technology provided an alternative source, which will help decrease reliability on recycled plastic bottles.
More, this technology keeps garment scraps out of landfills. This helps move the textile industry closer to circularity, or the process of having zero waste during the textile manufacturing process.
What’s Next
Look for SAYA Garma later this year. SAYA Garma is a complex recycling process that builds on our Rscuw technology. Additionally, in the second quarter of 2021 we expect to be able to recycle fabric scraps that are 100% polyester and have a DWR finishing. In 2022, we anticipate expanding that to include cotton scraps, along with 100% polyester and DWR finishing.
To share your thoughts on recycled fabric or to learn more about SAYA fiber, please contact us at change@sayarenew.com
Textile Industry cutting scrap accounts for up to 30% of yardage used.
TEXTILE INSIGHT | Emily Walzer – Saya is redefining what is possible in renewal fiber technology. With research, innovation and over 50 years of experience behind Saya with Nan Ya Plastics, the company is helping brands take their recycling efforts a step further and in so doing keep pace with the textile industry’s keen focus on advancing sustainable development to achieve circularity.
Sustainability Innovation
By always looking several product cycles into the future, Saya can see new opportunities and identify emerging trends. While its current operation continues to keep quality and performance high through its proprietary recycling technology which includes extensive pretreatment of rPET flakes, batch optimization and real-time color control; Saya also concentrates on innovating its manufacturing processes and expanding sources for recycled fiber.
Textile Industry cutting scrap accounts for up to 30% of yardage used.
For example, Saya’s Rscuw Project is currently pioneering several new recycling technologies, one being the most advanced mix content recycling project addressing the textile industry’s largest area of hidden waste: discarded fabric scrap and unused yardage. Plastic bottles, often considered the low-hanging fruit in the recycling business, based on accessibility and affordability, may in fact become scarce in the future. Options to overcome this shortage challenge include: reducing plastic usage, or increasing recycling rates in the U.S, which currently are about half that of Taiwan’s recycle rate of 80 – 90 percent, or seeking other sources of plastic to recycle. As Saya considers all possible recycling and renewable polyester sources for fiber, investment in groundbreaking technologies and innovative sustainable solutions remains a priority.
Spools of recycled polyester fiber ready for texturing
Saya Recycling Ingenuity
Saya provides solutions for the industrial waste problem in the textile industry by creating new uses for discards.
Saya Rscuw is made from recycled scrap and cutting waste from garment manufacturing. This product reduces waste by 30% per yard by recycling cutting scraps and overstock rolls of fabric, which has historically ended up in landfills or stored overtime in warehouses.
Saya’s Rscuw Raw takes efforts one step further. The product is crafted of recycled fabric cutting scrap and colored PET bottles, while retaining an original hue. Without bleaching and redyeing, the effort is more energy-efficient to further reduce carbon footprint. The resulting knit or woven fabric carries a unique heathered effect in shades of grey to nearly black.
Saya 365 is the brand’s recycled polyester fiber made of 100% post-consumer recycled PET (rPET) from plastic bottles. The Saya 365 fiber is produced using proprietary mechanical recycling and chemical recycling processes at its facilities in China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
“You achieve better color consistency, stability and whiteness, thanks to the proprietary seven stage filtration,” said Jack Chen, head of research and development for Saya, which includes a five-stage sorting and two-stage purification process resulting in batch optimized flakes and pellets ready to be transformed into performance fibers. “The dyeing consistency inevitably provides the best energy saving indirectly (as well as time and money) because this will cause less re-dye and reprocessing for better grade yield in later stages,” he further explained.
Saya’s proprietary 5 stage filtration and 2 stage purification process outlined
As for the melting process, bottles go through temperatures of almost 400 degrees Fahrenheit, which removes most potential virus and bacteria that may remain after the recycling process. Saya’s proprietary filtration process ensures all yarns meet European Union REACH (2020), bluesign, and Oeko Tex 100 standards for heavy metal and other harmful RSL and residue. Plastics are certified by Global Recycling Standard (GRS) and OceanCycle.
Robust Recycling
Saya partners with over 40 recyclers globally to ensure continuous access to recycled used bottles. With many producers of recycled polyester facing challenges sourcing recycled PET bottles and flake due to import restrictions, Saya repurposes over 100,000 tons of plastic bottles each year (equivalent to over 75 billion bottles) and has been able to ensure uninterrupted access with its flake-to-chip facilities on-site at bottle collection facilities in Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. These facilities turn recycled PET flake into chips that are shipped to yarn facilities for extrusion into high quality yarns. Saya also has a robust tracking program to ensure GRS 4.0 certified content, using a unique anti-forgery tracer in the final rPET fiber.
A Saya employee checks the quality of recycled polyester pellets
Saya also features two specialized recycling programs. Saya Coastal is a targeted cleanup program taking discarded plastic bottles in coastal regions that would otherwise float out to sea and use them for fibers. Plastic waste is a serious problem in our oceans, with over 8 million metric tons entering our water each year. Saya USA is a collection of recycled fibers manufactured in its Lake City, South Carolina facility for companies interested in a USA-based fiber program with full transparency and traceability.
Saya is dedicated to improving processes and quality for current recycling technology, while at the same time, anticipating future needs and opportunities. Saya continues to pursue and foster close partnerships with customers to co-create solutions enabling brands to stay ahead of fast-moving market trends and improve the environmental performance of their products. Raising the sustainability bar within the supply chain benefits all
The U.N. Paris Agreement goal is to reduce global carbon footprint by limiting increase in atmospheric temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
In an effort to reduce our global carbon footprint, the United Nations Paris Agreement calls for limiting temperature increases to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels . This massive effort requires government leadership, corporate accountability, and individual responsibility. SAYA is committed to reducing our carbon footprint and to helping our clients and partners do the same. From buying offsets to replacing virgin materials with recycled ones, to more, businesses can reduce energy consumption and global warming emissions, benefiting both the bottom line and the environment.
The U.N. Paris Agreement goal is to limit global warming to to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
What Is Carbon Footprint
Carbon footprint is an estimate of how much carbon dioxide an individual, family, or business produces. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, contributes to global warming. Therefore, a corporation’s carbon footprint is a measure of its impact on the environment. Having a small carbon footprint is preferable to having a big one. Currently, industry leaders are working toward achieving “carbon neutrality,” which is when activities release the same amount of carbon dioxide as they absorb.
Industry leaders working together to achieve carbon neutrality
How to Reduce Carbon Footprint
Experts agree that the most effective way to reduce a company’s carbon footprint is through science-based targets. These targets provide a road map for companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The targets are aligned with what the latest climate science deems necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
SAYA’s most recent sustainability report outlines the steps we have taken since 2010 to reduce our carbon footprint. It also highlights partnerships that have helped us minimize our greenhouse gas emissions. Two of our initiatives— SAYA 365 and SAYA Rscuw—use recycled plastic bottles and post-industrial recycled scrap and cutting materials to create high-performing textiles. An analysis by Utrecht University found that sourcing mechanically or chemically recycled polyester fibers can energy use by 45% to 85%, and also significantly reduce global warming potential compared to virgin polyester.
Our internal audit found significant reductions in energy and greenhouse gas emissions of recycled chip compared to virgin chip production:
Mechanically Recycled Polyester (compared to virgin polyester production) resulted in 87% less energy consumption and 77% less CO2 emissions.
Chemically Recycled Polyester Production (compared to virgin polyester production) resulted in 56% less energy consumption and 43% less CO2 emissions.
SAYA employee gathering fabric scrap for recycling
Why Reduce Carbon Footprint?
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed recently declared at the Climate and Development Ministerial Meeting: “We now need to spare no effort to achieve it in this ‘make-or-break year.’”Climate scientists at NASA agree that failure to curb greenhouse gas emissions and stanch global warming will result in rising temperatures, melting glaciers that result in elevated sea levels, extreme weather events, species extinction, and human displacement. These dramatic consequences impact us all and businesses have the responsibility to take all steps possible to minimize their contribution to global warming. More, consumers are demanding carbon-neutral products. By making significant changes now, companies will meet and exceed market demands.
A glacier showing signs of melting due to global warming
Next Steps
Reducing our carbon footprint is an ongoing process. It requires significant investment and innovation. We constantly strive to minimize our impact on the environment. We also aim to find solutions that improve air and water quality and the quality of life for all the world’s citizens.
FIBER2FASHION | Subir Ghosh – The past one year or so has seen frantic calls for a “green recovery” of the planet ravaged by the covid-19 pandemic. More than twelve months later, many are still debating passionately and not much headway has been made except for the fact that most detractors agree sotto voce that the fashion industry, for whatever reason, lies at the root of all problems plaguing the earth. Some initiatives have been launched, with a minuscule of them taking off in right earnest, and most others petering out with as much the whimper as they had begun with a bang. It would seem not many have been able to find the starting point at all, caught as they were in that dilemma of the four blind men who were asked to decide an elephant by feeling one of its parts. Every stakeholder—direct, indirect and those who have simply jumped on to the recovery-clamouring bandwagon—wants to have a deciding say in whatever is going to happen in the textiles-apparel-industry. True, every perspective is important, most valid too, and much of activities would need to be taken up and measures/regulations applied almost simultaneously. But then, everything needs a starting point just as much. For this industry, the starting point is the element that lies at its core: the fibre. The duopoly of cotton and polyester is virtually unchallenged, even though there have been many new fibres, apart from the many traditional ones that fell by the wayside, that have been gnawing away at the toeholds of the cotton-polyester duo. But it is not without reason that the two mainstay fibres hold sway: they have their plus points. Yet, the fibre sector has been seeing a lot of activity, with new developments/innovations gathering pace over the last one year. Experts and observers are unanimous in that the two mainstay fibres will not go away any time soon. New fibres will find acceptance, recycling/circularity will gather steam and scaleup to a point where they would be industrial sense, and many of the discarded traditional fibres will make a comeback, but not with enough firepower to dislodge the Big Two.
Experts Weigh In As The World Hangs By A Thread
Fibre2Fashion spoke to 21 industry professionals to ascertain their views and understanding about the state of fibres. As it turns out their arguments are very different from what others in the industry, but from different segments/sectors would believe. Below are the responses of SAYA Sr. VP S.Y. Huang.
Fiber2Fashion: There have been widespread calls for a green recovery of the fashion industry from the destruction wrought by the covid-19 pandemic. In some ways, this recovery needs to start from the fibre stage itself. What have you noticed in fibre development/innovation in the last one year? Has there been anything remarkable so far?
SY Huang: With consumers buying fewer apparel items during the pandemic, a few things have taken place. We saw orders for fibres drop in the second quarter of 2020 as brands, product managers and designers rethought and redesigned their future lines. This was difficult on the industry economically, but the pause gave brands the room they needed to build time for specifications at the fibre level to their design and production timeline. In the past, brands have relied on fabric mills to source the fibre, and the options were limited to virgin vs recycled PET in the case of polyester fibres. But now, the fibre industry is offering more choices including recycled PET from bottles collected from more fragile ecosystems such as Saya Coastal—a Saya 365 programme which collects bottles from coastal areas before they are washed out to the sea. This pause also gave fibre manufactures time to further develop green options. Saya used this time to explore new sources for recycled PET including fabric scrap and over runs, which required us to develop a new technology to return it to the fibre level.
Fiber2Fashion: Cotton has been under pressure because of anthropogenic activities, climate change, etc. Polyester is in the dock for oceanic pollution as well as being a fossil fuel fibre. Do you see the world breaking away from these two any time soon? Are we going to see new fibres that are sustainable/circular as well as affordable?
SY Huang: At this point, we are exploring techniques to make production of existing fibres, including polyester, cleaner, more sustainable and circular rather than looking for entirely new resources for fibre. Saya is looking to collect plastic bottles for recycling before they end up in the ocean and to find additional sources of existing PET rather than extracting more fossil fuel from the earth. This change requires the industry to look at every step and component of the garment production process. We need to consider the entire lifecycle of a product, including the end of life for the product, initially at the conceptualisation stage itself.
Fiber2Fashion: Industry news is flooded with announcements about new fibre innovations/developments. Do you think there are far too many different fibres in the market, with each claiming this or that? Do you think there is so much of a clutter that both apparel makers as well as end-consumers stand confused?
SY Huang: Yes, there are more options on the market, and that requires more research and testing at all levels of the design and production process, but this abundance and choice is necessary for progress. The weaker innovations will not make it in the market and until a new development can be scaled up it will not be adopted. Sometimes it is a crisis that drives change, and we are at one of those moments in time. As an industry we have learned that change can sometimes cause new issues and it would behove us to analyse and try to predict future impacts as much as possible.
Fiber2Fashion: In which areas of fibre development/innovation do you foresee the maximum activity: sustainability/circularity, performance, longevity, or affordability?
SY Huang: Sustainability and circularity have to be the priorities for the foreseeable future. The last 50 years have been spent developing some great performance options, and now we are seeing that our push for superior performance comes at a cost. Expectations and standards in performance have been set, and the next challenge is to maintain those standards with more sustainable manufacturing at all levels.
Fiber2Fashion: What percentage of your turnover is invested in R&D towards fibre development/innovation? Is this amount going to be increased in the near future?
SY Huang: About 8–10 per cent of the turnover has been invested in R&D research since 2010. From now on, 70 per cent of investment will go into green development, including garment recycling, ocean-bound recycled bottles, advanced recycling technologies. The other 30 per cent will go into recycling-based performance fibres such as Saya fresh/stretch/microfibre and more. Aside from that, in response to our customers’ requests we are currently working on different green polymers as well. PBAT, a biodegradable polymer, has been developed to meet the highest standards.
Fibre2Fashion: Just creating a new fibre or innovating on one is not enough. The people have to accept it and buy too. How are you marketing your product among apparel manufacturers as well as end-consumers?
SY Huang: Consumers are aware of the issues caused by the textiles industry and they are looking at the industry to take on the responsibility, to do the research and to make the investment towards cleaner, more sustainable products at every level of the production cycle. They are no longer wooed simply by fashion or performance. So, Saya is telling the story of our research and development and dedication to helping the textile industry to become more sustainable.
Fibre2Fashion: One cannot be announcing a new fibre every other day. Yet, one needs to future-proof fibres too. How do you go about doing this? Is it even feasible?
SY Huang: The industry has learned a lot through its mistakes. We now have partners including BlueSign, the Higg Index and Oeko-Tex which are dedicated to developing sustainable standards and practices which can help see unintended issues well in advance. We can borrow from other industries too to learn from their successes and failures as well
Polyester fiber and fabric samples made of recycled plastic PET bottles
Polyester is a synthetic fiber containing petroleum, coal, air and water that was developed in 1941. Of the most common types of polyester fabric, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is the most ubiquitous. PET is strong, dries quickly, is impervious to wrinkles and mildew, doesn’t shrink, and is able to change the nature of other fabrics with which it is used.
The second most used polyester variation, PCDT (poly-1, 4-cyclohexylene-dimethylene terephthalate), is more elastic, offers greater resilience, and is ideal for heavier textiles like curtains and furniture coverings. These synthetic polyesters are not biodegradable but can be recycled, which increases production efficiency and reduces the materials’ carbon footprint. By contrast, some lesser used polyester variations that contain naturally occurring chemicals—the cutin of plant cuticles, for instance—can be biodegradable.
Illustration of molecular make of polyester fibers
Polyester yarns
Manufacturers create three different types of yarn from polyester, and these yarns are used in everything from clothing to industrial materials to disposable water bottles, and more. The three yarns are monofilament, multifilament, and spun.
Industrial monofilament polyester mesh made of recycled PET bottles
Monofilament polyester yarns consist of a single, untwisted strand of polyester and are commonly used to manufacture equipment for industrial uses such as conveyor belts, sieves and filters.
Multifilaments are twisted monofilaments that produce a more flexible yarn with equivalent linear density and tenacity. By adding a twist to the monofilaments, polyester manufacturers enhance the strand’s structural integrity. Multifilament yarns are commonly used for seat belts, industrial sewing threads, industrial webbing, flat or round slings and tie downs, ropes and hose and tire reinforcement.
Multi-filament seat belts made of polyester fibers of recycled plastic
Spun polyester yarns refer to the process of blending polyester filaments with other fibers to create yarns that range from dull to bright with various tenacity. Polyester can be blended with both natural and synthetic fibers to to produce fabrics with blended properties.
Cotton-polyester blends are wrinkle, tear, and shrink resistant and can be remarkably strong. Synthetic-polyester blends have exceptional water and wind resistance and are ideal for outerwear.
Polyester fiber and fabric samples made of recycled plastic PET bottles
To share your thoughts on polyester yarns and fabrics or to learn more about SAYA fiber, please contact us at change@sayarenew.com
With just two days left to attend the online show, SAYA would like to invite all interested parties to visit to our booth at Winter Outdoor Retailer online
Or visit the SAYA website (anytime) and to schedule an online appointment.
SAYA, a new brand of recycled fibers under Formosa and NanYa Plastics Corp was founded in Fall 2020 to showcase the 50-year-old fiber company’s advancements in fiber renewal. Check out our video about the SAYA Rscuw Project.
SAYA Rscuw fibers are made of recycled cutting scrap and overstock yardage.
SAYA recycled polyester from either scrap or bottles is available with several performance SAYA offers geo targeted recycled PET options including Made in the USA and SAYA Coastal enhancements including:
Solution-dye technology with ultra-rich color and superior fade resistance.
Stretch made with 50% Recycled PET + 50% Bio-Based PTT.
Antibacterial treatment
Filament sizes ranging from microfiber for ultimate drape to ballistic options for maximum strength and abrasion resistance
CO2 Emissions can be mediated toward Carbon Neutrality
What does Carbon Footprint mean and how to reduce it?
The carbon footprint of an entity has become a standard measure of comparison and is defined as the sum of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from fossil-fuel combustion in manufacturing, heating, and transportation, as well as emissions required to produce the electricity associated with goods and services which are consumed.
Greenhouse gas emissions include the total carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, or chlorofluorocarbons and are expressed as a measure of weight, as in tons of CO2. The carbon footprint can be calculated for an individual, a household or organization, an activity, an event or for manufactured goods.
CO2 Emissions can be mediated with plantings toward Carbon Neutrality
For any given entity or product there might be hundreds of contributing factors that must be considered when calculating the carbon footprint. For a manufactured product, such as an item of apparel or a piece of furniture for example, every component that goes into the item, the energy used for production, transportation, use and even disposal of goods needs to be included and measured.
It is generally agreed that increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere are contributing to climate change. As concerned global citizens, our overall goal is to find meaningful ways to reduce our carbon footprint however and wherever we can.
By recycling existing polyester into fiber rather than manufacturing fiber out of raw petroleum extracted from the earth, SAYA has been able to reduce the carbon footprint of our performance fibers by 77 percent.
Rolls of left over fabric to be recycled back into polyester fiber to reduce CO2 emissions
Selecting recycled over virgin content for the fiber used to knit or weave fabric is just one of many decisions and factors that go into reducing the carbon footprint of a finished garment or product. At SAYA our goal is to help brands and product developers start out on the right foot, by offering a more sustainable choice at the very beginning of the design and production process.
To share your thoughts on reducing carbon footprints or to learn more about SAYA fiber, please contact us at change@sayarenew.com
