Ecospun Fabric Gives A Whole New Meaning To Getting Fleeced

Ecospun polyester is made from common plastic pop and water bottles.

It's hard to imagine, but you could actually be wearing the plastic bottle you drank from not long ago.

In fact, it could be the sweatshirt or jacket you're wearing now...

Have you ever cursed at the mountain of plastic bottles that seem to pile up out of nowhere?

Have you ever wondered if recycling them is worth the effort, or for that matter, what happens to them after you do?

Well you'll be glad to know that it IS worth the effort, and amazing things become of them. Amazingly, they are transformed into a high quality polyester fabric.

Ecospun fiber has many labels. Among them are ecofi, eco fleece, ecospun polyester, and fortrel eco-spun.

Eco Fleece Characteristics

• warm
• durable
• lightweight
• strong and soft
• shrink resistant
• colorfast
• comfortable

EcoFi can be used by itself to make several products, but for enhanced qualities, it is often blended with other fibers such as wool, cotton, and tencel.

From there, a whole new world of end market products opens up. Products include clothing mattresses, blankets, fiberfill, felt, carpets and upholstery.

Did You Know?

• About 10 bottles equals one pound of fiber
• Approximately 25 two-litre plastic pop bottles could be reinvented into a size medium fleece pullover
• About 85 pop bottles could become enough insulation for a large sleeping bag
• It only takes about 14 plastic bottles to transform into one square foot of carpeting
• Roughly 150 jackets are made from 3700 (2 liter) recycled bottles

So chances are, you've worn it, sat on it, or walked on it without even realizing it.

How Do Recycled Plastic Bottles Become Fabric?

1. Plastic bottles are collected at recycling centers
2. The containers are de-capped and sorted by color or type
3. Containers are washed and labels are stripped off
4. They go to a plastic recycling facility
5. They’re crushed and chopped into flakes
6. The flakes are melted and extruded into strands
7. The fibers are crimped, stretched to desired length, cut, and baled
8. The final step is to be spun into yarn and woven into a soft fabric

Environmental Benefits

If you’re thinking that eco-fleece is not environmentally friendly, then consider this.

You know what the corner of your garage can look like when those empty plastic bottles pile up. They seem to grow and multiply all by themselves.

Imagine, then what our landfills would look like if everyone's bottles ended up there.

Each year, about 40 billion plastic bottles are produced in the US alone. Less than 30% of them are recycled. Worse yet, it takes over 700 years for these containers to decompose.

Recycling plastic bottles saves immense amounts of water and fuel. Harmful air emissions are lowered, and global warming is reduced. For every 150 jackets made, 42 gallons of oil and about half a ton of toxic emissions is avoided.

So, if you haven’t developed a growing concern before, now is the time. Simply recycle bottles. Great rewards are reaped from small efforts.

Saving our earth is a good reason.

Care What You Wear...

Greenloop has the most amazing selection of all latest in eco fashion. Wardrobe basics in popular and sophisticated designs - all at incredible prices.





Return from Ecospun to Home Page