|
| |
 |
EcoSpun
(Eco-fi)
Eco-fi
, formerly known as EcoSpun, is a high-quality polyester fiber which has
been developed by the U.S. company Wellman Inc. Many different fabrics
are made using Eco-fi, including fleece fabrics which are warm, durable,
weather resistant, lightweight and comfortable. They are very soft to
the touch.
One would never guess the source of the fiber -
recycled plastic pop bottles!
|
|
Benefits
The Eco-fi process has the capacity to keep
almost 3 billion plastic PET soda bottles out of the world's landfills
each year, saving over 1/2 million barrels of oil and eliminating
400,000 tons of harmful air emissions which contribute to acid rain,
global warming and smog. The amount of petroleum saved by using
post-consumer bottles instead of virgin materials in the manufacturing
process annually is enough to supply power to a city the size of Atlanta
for an entire year! |
|
Process
One of the most impressive features of Eco-fi
is the source of the fiber - recycled plastic (PET) soda pop bottles.
The bottles are refined and purified, chopped down and processed into
spun fiber strands. These strands are then knitted and woven into
fabric. |
 |
1.
The process begins at your local recycling depot, where the plastic pop
bottles are sorted and baled for pickup. The plastic is technically
called polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
|
|
1. The process begins at your local
recycling depot, where the plastic pop bottles are sorted and baled for
pickup. The plastic is technically called polyethylene terephthalate
(PET).
2. At the processing plant, the caps and
labels are removed, and
the bottles are then separated by color.
3. After sterilization, the bottles are crushed and then chopped into
flake.
4. These tiny pieces of flake are poured
into large vats, where they are melted and stirred. This produces a
thick liquid that's extruded through shower-head like devices to create
fibrous, polyester strands.
5. The fiber strands are then stretched to
produce thinness and strength. The strands are crimped, cut into short
pieces and baled for shipping to clothing manufacturers where the thread
is knitted and woven into fabric. Fleece is but one of many fabrics that
can be produced using this versatile fiber.
|
 |
 |
Fleece garments made from Eco-fi are, chemically and functionally,
nearly identical to non-recycled fleeces. Eco-fi delivers a soft,
luxurious, color-fast product without depleting the Earth's natural
resources, without herbicides or pesticides and without extensive energy
use. |
|
Wellman has won numerous environmental awards for the development of
EcoSpun. Recently, Wellman has passed on the manufacturing rights for
EcoSpun to Foss Manufacturing. Foss has recently changed the name from
EcoSpun to Eco-fi.
Article
from eartheasy.com |
|
