Is polyester a cheap fabric?

09 Mar.,2024

 


You have probably seen clothing that says, “100% polyester”. But what is Polyester, and how can it be used? Find out what you need to know about polyester before using it for your project or product.

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Polyester is a synthetic or man-made fiber material. Shortened from its technical name, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which, if born, would be its legal name, is made by mixing ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. Made in a lab from chemical compounds, polyester is a kind of plastic.

Used for a countless number of applications for its strength and ability to retain its shape, polyester is a base component for several industrial, commercial, and household products.

And whereas polyester had suffered a bad reputation for its negative effect on the environment, now there are ways to make it more sustainable. Read on to learn more about the power of polyester.

How Is Polyester Made?

Since polyester is a synthetic fiber, it doesn’t come from a plant like cotton. Instead, polyester is chemically produced from derived compounds. While the process varies depending on the different types of polyester and the manufacturer, there are five basic steps to creating polyester:

  1. Create a monomer: After being extracted from the earth and transported to a refinery, petroleum is broken down into ingredients that can be used for various applications. The ethylene and p-xylene extracted from petroleum are the two monomers needed for making polyester.
  2. Create a polymer: The monomers are then mixed with dimethyl terephthalate, creating the polymer polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is the plastic in soda and water bottles. PET in this form has a honey-like consistency.
  3. Extrude the polymer: Once the PET is formed, it’s extruded so it can dry and harden. Then, it’s cut up into small pellets.
  4. Melt and spin the pellets: The PET pellets are once again melted, and the molten PET is extruded through spinnerets, which are tiny holes, to form thread. After these long threads cool, they harden into polyester fibers. Depending on what the fibers are for, the spinneret shapes can be altered to create different fiber qualities.
  5. A yarn is born: Finally, the fibers are twisted into polyester yarn and are ready to knit into fabric. At this stage, the fibers can be cut or further altered with various chemicals to achieve specific results.

Depending on the desired outcome, various ways to modify this production process exist. For example, to produce soft and smooth fabrics, the fibers will be adjusted to create a thin filament. There are also ways to alter the ethylene used in the process. When producing plant-based polyester, the source of ethylene is commonly sugarcane rather than petroleum.

The Power of Polyester

Polyester has numerous attributes, many of which are unique to the fabric. These benefits are why polyester became so popular and is still widely used today. Some important polyester characteristics are:

  • Durable: Polyester fibers are much stronger than other natural fibers. Polyester won’t tear or stretch and can withstand abrasions. It’s highly resilient to heat, light, and ultraviolet radiation degradation, making it a good material for boat covers and high sun exposure applications. Easily washable, quick drying, and resistant to mildew and most chemicals, polyester is often used when making outdoor clothing and gear, like jackets, tents, and backpacks, as well as products including home furnishings, safety belts, carpets, and laundry bags. Highly diverse, polyester is even used as a synthetic artery replacement.
  • Moisture resistant: Polyester repels moisture and will wick away liquid droplets instead of soaking them up like cotton. This benefit is another characteristic that makes polyester ideal for outdoor clothing and gear. For example, a tent made of polyester will resist precipitation and moisture, keeping the contents inside dry. Note that this characteristic tends to make the fabric less breathable, so clothing manufacturers often blend polyester with a breathable material, like cotton.
  • Wrinkle resistant: Polyester retains its shape without needing to be washed or ironed as often as cotton or linen. The wrinkle-resistant qualities of polyester allow it to stay rigid and in shape, letting the fabric be worn or used longer between washes. This feature was one of the main advertised characteristics and benefits of polyester when first introduced as an alternative apparel material.
  • Moldable: When heat is applied, polyester is highly malleable and can be formed into shapes. It can be re-melted and reused several times, decreasing the amount of waste in our landfills. Furthering the sustainability of polyester, companies today specialize in separating poly/cotton blends so that the original polyester can be used again and again in textiles.

Like any fabric, polyester has characteristics that may draw consumers away from it or might make the material less ideal for certain applications. For one, most types of polyester aren’t biodegradable, though researchers in textile advancements are striving for polyester that breaks down at the same rate materials such as cotton do.

Polyester also isn’t the most luxurious fabric, which means it can feel coarse on its own. Cheap or poorly made polyester will feel rough, especially on sensitive skin. The texture of polyester can depend on how the fibers were made or tethered together. While some polyester fabrics tend to be coarse and itchy, others can be smooth and silky. Clothing manufacturers can also blend polyester with other materials for a more comfortable garment.

Types of Polyester

There are a few types of polyester, with the most significant difference being what they’re made of. Some types of polyester are more suitable for particular applications because of their distinct characteristics. Let’s take a closer look at three types of polyester fabric.

Polyethylene Terephthalate

Polyethylene terephthalate is the most common type of polyester. Also known as PET, polyethylene terephthalate is the most produced polyester. Polyethylene terephthalate is durable and inexpensive to produce, making it ideal for most applications.

Plant-Based Polyester

While polyester can be recycled, it’s most often recycled in the form of bottles rather than clothing fibers. Compared to the amount of polyester used in fabrics and clothes, less than 15% is actually recycled and reused in new textiles. That’s where plant-based polyester comes in.

Plant-based polyester is made with bio alternatives to petroleum. The ethylene needed for the polyester comes from plants like sugar cane or bio-waste, or waste that mainly includes organic materials, such as food scraps or sawdust. Using these biodegradable materials helps reduce the use of petroleum resources.

While it’s not produced as heavily as PET due to higher costs, plant-based polyester fabric is biodegradable. This characteristic makes plant-based polyester more sustainable and better for the environment, given that the crops are farmed sustainably. This polyester type may not be as popular or durable as other types; however, it is more environmentally sustainable.

PCDT Polyester

PCDT is similar to PET, though their chemical structures are different. PCDT stands for poly-1, 4-cyclohexylene-dimethylene terephthalate, which is what makes up this polyester. PCDT polyester is less popular than PET, even though it is often more elastic and durable. These properties make this polyester ideal for heavy-duty applications like curtains or upholstery.

Uses of Polyester

Polyester is found in several products and industries. Its durability makes it ideal for various items ranging from clothing to consumer products and industrial applications:

  • Clothing: Polyester fiber can be used to make anything cotton fibers would be used for. Any apparel items for business, formal or casual wear can be made from polyester. From socks and underwear to suits and everyday shirts, polyester fabric has endless applications in apparel.
  • Housewares: Polyester is used to make various home items like microfiber towels, blankets, curtains, and upholstery. The moisture-resistant properties make polyester an excellent fabric for pillows, chairs, and sofa cushions.
  • Automotive: When you enter your car and buckle up, chances are the safety belt is made with polyester. Additionally, it’s used as a reinforcement for car tires, as it adds strength, making the tire last longer.
  • Geosynthetics: Used in civil engineering projects and construction jobs, polyester can be found in roads and landfills, as it’s a good fabric for water filtration, drainage, and soil erosion control.
  • Industrial applications: Polyester material can also be found in bottles, ropes, cords, boats, LCDs, tarps, food containers, and other industrial products.

Polyester is also commonly used as stuffing for blankets, bedding, and sleeping bags because of its ability to insulate. Many everyday items are made with polyester, many of which you may not even think about.

The Cost of Polyester

The price of polyester fluctuates and largely depends on supply and demand, the quality of the fibers, where you purchase from, and whether the raw materials have been altered already. Before 2016, polyester pricing remained relatively consistent from quarter to quarter, but since then, that stability has been replaced by accelerated movement, exacerbated by the onset of the pandemic.

Polyester pricing is dependent on a few factors:

Price of raw materials – Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, aka Polyester) is produced by combining Mono- Ethylene Glycol (MEG) and Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA), found in crude oil. As the price of oil increases, so does the cost of PTA, affecting the cost of polyester.

Ocean Freight – Since China operates about 70% of the world’s industrial polyester production, ocean freight cannot be avoided. As shipping costs increase, so does the cost of polyester. With the pandemic, international shipping has slowed, making the acquisition of polyester difficult, thereby hiking prices.

Market Demand – Although polyester is used in many industries, the automotive sector significantly impacts demand. Used in several components of car production, including seatbelts, tire carcass piles, airbags, hose reinforcement, power transmission belt reinforcement, and interiors; when automobile production slows (currently due to the lack of computer chips), so does the supply of polyester. Overall, the supply/demand equation directly impacts market pricing.

Quality Polyester Fabrics from Apex Mills

If you’re in the market for polyester fabric solutions, Apex Mills can help. Our fabric specialists have satisfied customers in various fields from health care to the military, achieving the textile solution necessary for their specific needs.

Contact our team today to find out how we can customize a solution for you. 

 

We’re in a fashion crisis: everything is made of polyester. And consequently, everything is awful.

Polyester is a terrible fabric that has ruined fashion. Many designers and manufacturers have chosen to use polyester because it’s cheap. However, while it saves on margins, it sucks for consumers.

The high price of fast fashion

“Fast Fashion” refers to clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers to keep up with the latest trends. You might think there’s only four seasons per year, but many fast fashion brands are producing for 12 to 26 seasons per year.

Fast fashion clothing is meant to be disposed of after a few wears, and it’s made accordingly. Expect to find poor design, even worse stitching, and of course, the cheapest fabrics available.

Polyester is the cheapest fabric on the market, and therefore dominates the space of disposable clothing. The problem is, however, when you throw out pieces from your fast fashion wardrobe, they don’t actually disappear. They sit in a landfill.

Frugal female fashion

The reason polyester is so popular is because it’s so affordable. If you’re looking for frugal fashion, this will be one of the leading textiles.

Most lower-priced clothing is made from polyester or polyester blends. However, now I’m even seeing expensive clothing made from it as well! Just because a blouse or dress is high priced, doesn’t mean it’s high quality.

How to curb your shopping by avoiding polyester

I browse my favorite stores online all the time. It’s especially easy if they have apps where I can just flick through gorgeous dresses to kill time while waiting for the bus or in line at the grocery store. I’d probably be racking up $300 clothing shopping bills every day if it wasn’t for one simple tactic:

I don’t buy clothing made of polyester.

Dear polyester, we’re over. xoxo B.

My hatred of polyester has been a long time coming. However, it’s only recently that I have been able to commit to vanquishing it from my life entirely.

It started out innocently enough. A brand new dress I bought felt incredibly hot and uncomfortable whenever I wore it in the summer. What’s it made of? 100% polyester.

I wishfully believed it was just that dress. But as soon as I started paying attention to how my clothes felt and less on how they looked. I noticed a pattern.

Wearing polyester feels about the same as going about your day in a stinky plastic bag

Polyester is uncomfortable and hot. Because it’s essentially a plastic, wearing it on a hot day means your sweat gets trapped between the fabric and your skin, making you hotter.

Unlike natural fabrics like cotton or wool that wick moisture away from the skin to keep you dry, polyester will leave you damp. Or even dripping with sweat.

Polyester holds odors

To add insult to injury, it also holds odors. If you dare sweat in a polyester piece, it’s essentially ruined. Aside from B.O., it will also hold scents from perfume, deodorant. Any other kind of smell from cigarette smoke to pets will also become embedded in the fabric.

There’s no delightful clean scent post laundry to cancel the nasty smells out, either. Polyester seems to selectively hold on to all the bad smells of its lifetime in its threads.

Now whenever I see an adorable dress with a 100%-polyester tag my first thoughts are: “I would be miserable wearing that on any summer day”. Because I would!

Even if it feels like silk, it’s actually polyester

I’ve been tricked once or twice. A soft, slinky shirt from Aritzia that I thought was silk was actually just a really fine polyester blend. I was almost fooled by the $100 price tag, but apparently charging a premium for this cheap fabric is par for the course now!

Polyester is tricky like that: it makes you think it’s something it’s not. It is not something you want to put on your body. Resist or pay the price of misery later!

What is made of Polyester? Nearly everything.

Now when I do any shopping online or otherwise, I always check the tag before I buy. If it’s more than 90% polyester, I won’t pay good money for it. Polyester is a mass market favorite because it’s cheap, easy and relatively durable… so long as the wearer isn’t standing next to an open flame or anything.

Polyester is flammable, but you’re unlikely to catch fire even if you are living dangerously. To keep polyester’s desire to ignite under wraps, our clothing is sprayed with toxic flame retardants.

Other synthetic fabrics like polyester

Polyester isn’t the only man-made fabric clothes are made of. In fact, you’re more likely than not to find polyester blended with something else. Other synthetic fabrics to be wary of but I have not yet concluded are as loathsome as polyester:

  • Rayon
  • Nylon
  • Spandex
  • Acrylic

Choose natural fabrics when you add to your wardrobe

When it comes to natural fabrics, you have more choices than you might initially think. Some you might want to keep your eye out for are:

  • Cotton
  • Wool
  • Silk
  • Cashmere
  • Hemp
  • Flax

Cotton, on the other hand, is this marvelous sort of thing that keeps you cool in the heat and warm in the cold. It washes clean after every wear and emerges smelling like your laundry soap instead of your hairspray. Wool is another one of my faves, but some people are allergic so it’s not always an option.

Silk is a luxurious natural fabric, but can be expensive. Same goes for cashmere. But if you can afford to shell out for these threads, it’s worth doing so.

Good quality clothes are worth the price tag. Not only will the keep you comfortable, they fit well and will stand the test of time.

By avoiding polyester, you can curb wasting money on clothes.

If you tend to spend money on clothing and then regret it, an easy way to curb your spending might be to commit to purchasing clothing that’s made from natural fibres only.

Buying clothing that’s uncomfortable to wear is a waste of money. I know avoiding this one fabric has seriously curbed my daily ModCloth habit.

Do you have any tricks for your comfort and happiness that also boost your budget? Tell me your secrets, readers!

Is polyester a cheap fabric?

Frugal Fashion: just say no to Polyester

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