Part 2/3
Recycled polyester is reducing the amount of waste that we produce, which ultimately helps to prevent plastic pollution on landfills and going into the ocean.
According to OceansPlastiCleanUp a staggering 8-12 million tons of plastic is being flushed into the oceans every year and raising constantly up. At this rate, in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean.
Some shocking numbers about how we pollute our planet.
Yearly 2.5 Billion metric tones of solid waste is produced all around the world. Out of the 2.5 Billion metric tones 275 Million metric tones is plastic waste. Out of the 275 Million metric tones of plastic waste, approximately 100 Million metric tones are produced by cities located at the coastal area. And 8-12% of this goes into the sea! That means 22k - 33k metric tones every single day
Recycled polyester is an eco-friendly alternative to regular plastic, due to the need of less extraction of oil & natural gas.
As an example Patagonia who are known of producing fleece from second-hand soda bottles says “Recycled polyester, which has been available since the early 1990s, is now similarly priced to its virgin counterparts. Using recycled polyester lessens our dependence on petroleum as a source of raw materials, utilizes waste and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing. Plus, by using recycled polyester, we can promote new recycling streams for polyester clothing that is no longer wearable.
rPET material is just as good as virgin polyester but requires less resources to produce.
According to a study by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) in 2017, recycled polyester is very similar to virgin polyester in terms of quality, but with the great advantage that it’s production requires 59 percent less energy and reduces the emission by app. 32% compared to virgin polyester.