So how are plastic bottles made into shirts? Great question!
The collected bottles enter a conversion process where they are…
- Cleaned
- Separated
- Ground up
- Reformulated into recycled flakes.
The flakes are then melted so they can be extruded through very small openings, creating polyester strands. The strands are then processed to add stretch and softness and then chopped up into fiber. A yarn manufacturer spins the fiber into the yarn size and type required. The yarn is shipped to fabric mills where it’s knit and dyed, just like any other 100% polyester fabric. The final step is to send the fabric to a sewing facility where shirts are manufactured.
*information and images from Century Place.
