Editorial: Getting closer to Closing the Loop with Polyester

December 2018 | 8 pages | ID: ED4D00C6889EN
Textiles Intelligence Ltd

Abstracts

The global fashion industry generates some 1.2 bn tons of greenhouse gases annually—more than the amount generated by international flights and shipping combined. The global textile industry produces around 60 mn tons of waste annually, and 68% of this ends up in landfill. The fibres in landfilled textile waste degrade only slowly, causing soil and water contamination. Also, sending textile waste to landfill results in a loss of scarce and non-renewable resources in the form of the polymers from which the textiles are made. To address these problems, concerted action is needed and this was discussed at length by industry leaders at the 57th Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress (Dornbirn-GFC) which was held in Dornbirn, Austria, during September 12-14, 2018. Following the conference, a number of new developments—particularly in relation to polyester products—have been announced. In this report, Robin Anson discusses some of the most significant developments made by PrimaLoft, the National University of Singaport (NUS), and a joint venture comprising Indorama Ventures and Loop Industries.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

BIODEGRADABLE POLYESTER (PET) MICROFIBRE FABRICS FROM PRIMALOFT

PET AEROGELS FROM THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE (NUS)

UPCYCLING POLYESTER TO TRANSFORM LOW QUALITY

MATERIAL INTO HIGH PURITY PET: INDORAMA VENTURES LIMITED (IVL) AND LOOP INDUSTRIES

Introduction
Polyester staple fibre made from rPET
Taking the recycling of PET fibre-based products to the next level
IVL’s agreement with loop industries gives it an exclusive worldwide licence