Part 1/3
It's not always as good as we're told!
But before we start and look at the pro and cons lets review some interesting facts first. In our research we found the non-profit organization Textile Exchange that has started an interesting initiative 5 years ago in 2017 who challenged the industry to increase the use of recycled Polyester with the Recycled Polyester Commitment.
Adidas, GymShark, Target, Inditex and 72 other companies are among the "big name" companies that Textile Exchange challenged to increase the use of recycled polyester in their products by 25% till 2020. The idea was certainly not new and great ground work were already established between the companies and their manufacturer to use recycled polyester.
However, Textile Exchange announced that all participants have met their goals two years before the deadline. In fact, the data shows that recycling polyester use has increased by 36% in their results.
But why this challenge:
Approximately 40% - 50% of the clothes in the world are made from polyester, and the current predictions shows an increase by further 10% - 20% till 2030. One of the main reasons is the athleisure trend. Modern consumers are looking for clothes that are stretchy, durable and resistant to any kind of damage. The problem is that polyester is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common type of plastic in the world and it means that the majority of our clothes come from crude oil.
What’s next?
2025 Recycled Polyester Challenge
“Textile Exchange and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action are launching a joint initiative to further spur a shift in the market towards the uptake of recycled polyester (rPET) and the associated reduction in greenhouse gases (GHGs).
The 2025 Recycled Polyester Challenge serves as an important catalyst for change in the apparel and textile industry. We are challenging the apparel industry to commit to bringing the percentage of recycled polyester up from 14% to 45% at 17.1 million metric tons by 2025. The Challenge will continue the successful acceleration that began with Textile Exchange’s 2017 Recycled Polyester Commitment.
We encourage brands to commit to the most ambitious uptake target possible. 80-100% recycled polyester commitments from the brands in our community will be essential to reaching our 2025 45% recycled volume target and for building critical mass to reach an absolute 90% recycled volume share by 2030.”
Source textileexchange.org
Just to give an example, five soda bottles yield enough fiber for one extra large T-shirt.