‘Recycled & sustainable fibre is the future’

Ludhiana: The next time you discard your water bottle, beware that it might just be used in what you would wear next. Junked water and soft drink bottles are now being used to create yarns and fabrics in a big way.
Odds are what you are wearing already might have been created from such junked single-use plastic bottles. That is what many of such recycled yarns and fabrics manufacturers, who have descended into the city for an exhibition, presented. Many of such manufacturers showcased their products and raw materials as part the three-day Yarnex, TexIndia and DyChem exhibition of yarns, fibres, accessories, dyes and other allied services that recently concluded at Dana Mandi, Jalandhar Bypass.
Recycled and sustainable yarns and fabrics are the future, as these are being demanded by major global fashion brands due to consciousness about the environment and ecology driving demand for recycled and sustainable products.
"As awareness about sustainability rises, most of the global fashion brands are using recycled fabrics, which is pushing in the industry towards recycled fabric and yarn," Sandeep Sharma from Surat-based JB Ecotex said. He added that 170 metric tonnes of yarn could be obtained from 200 metric tonnes of plastic bottle waste.
"However, quality of the fabric is not impacted as after recycling, the raw material is as good as virgin plastic," he claimed.
Spurt in demand for recycled fabrics and yarns is also pushing more players to enter manufacturing of such yarns and fabrics. Kevin Patel from Perfect Filament that creates yarn from such bottles explained, "Crushed waste bottles are used to make flakes, and then turned into chips that are used to create partly oriented yarn, and finally drawn texturized yarn that is used for making the fabric."
Along with recycled, some firms showcased eco-friendly cellulose-based biodegradable fabrics. "Man-made cellulose is used for creation of a variety high-quality fabrics, which are very soft. These are eco-friendly fabrics as these are biodegradable," claimed Rajesh Vataliya, senior general manager at Grasim India.
As major brands like H&M, Zara are using recycled fabrics, the industry is now shifting towards recycled and sustainable fibres and fabrics, which is good for the environment, Neeraj Sarawgi, from another Gujarat-based firm asserted.