You have probably seen clothing that says, “100% polyester,” but what IS polyester, and how can it be used? Find out everything you need to know about polyester here.
Polyester is a synthetic fiber made by mixing ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. The technical name for polyester is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Invented by British chemists in 1941, polyester was brought to the United States by the DuPont Corporation and became a popular choice for manufacturing apparel by the 1970s. Today, polyester is the most popular fiber worldwide, surpassing cotton and making up over half of all global fiber production. Due to its durability and shape retention, polyester is a base component for numerous industrial, commercial, and household products.
What Does 100% Polyester Mean?
Fabrics made entirely of polyester fibers are labeled 100% polyester. Polyester fibers can also be blended with other materials; for example, poly-nylon is a blend of polyester and nylon. Blending combines the desirable properties of both fibers.
Is Polyester a Good Fabric Choice?
Polyester is durable, affordable, and low maintenance, making it a popular choice for activewear, outdoor gear, and everyday items. It is lightweight, quick-drying, and exceptionally well-retained in shape and color. These qualities contribute to its widespread use in apparel, home textiles, and industrial products. While polyester provides excellent performance, it is less breathable than natural fabrics, which may impact comfort in warm conditions. However, special treatments such as moisture-wicking can improve comfort.
Overall, polyester is a practical choice for longevity and ease of care. Although polyester has been criticized for its environmental impact, advancements in sustainable production methods are helping to mitigate these concerns.
The Power of Polyester
Polyester has numerous attributes, many of which are unique to fabrics. These benefits have made it popular and continue to drive its use today. Some important polyester characteristics are:
Durable: Polyester fibers are significantly stronger than natural fibers. Polyester resists tearing, stretching, and abrasion. It’s highly resilient to heat, light, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation degradation, making it ideal for boat covers and applications with high sun exposure. Easily washable, quick drying, and resistant to mildew and most chemicals, polyester is often used in outdoor clothing and gear, such as jackets, tents, backpacks, home furnishings, safety belts, carpets, and laundry bags. Highly versatile, polyester is even used in synthetic artery replacements.
Moisture-resistant: Polyester repels moisture and wicks away liquid droplets rather than absorbing them like cotton. This characteristic makes polyester ideal for outdoor clothing and gear. For example, a polyester tent will resist precipitation and moisture, keeping the contents dry. However, this property can make polyester less breathable, so manufacturers often blend it with breathable materials, like cotton.
Wrinkle-resistant: Unlike cotton or linen, Polyester retains its shape without frequent washing or ironing. Its wrinkle-resistant qualities allow it to maintain shape, enabling longer wear between washes. This feature was one of the primary benefits advertised when polyester was first introduced as an alternative apparel material.
Moldable: When exposed to heat, polyester is highly malleable and can be shaped accordingly. It can be re-melted and reused several times, reducing landfill waste. Supporting sustainability efforts, modern companies specialize in separating poly/cotton blends so that polyester can be recycled in textiles.
How Polyester Compares to Other Fabrics
Polyester offers several advantages over natural fabrics. Understanding polyester’s strengths and limitations can help determine whether it’s the right choice for your needs. Here’s how polyester compares to natural fabrics (cotton, wool, linen, silk) and nylon, spandex, and acrylic:
Durability
Natural: Polyester is more durable and wear-resistant than natural fabrics like cotton.
Synthetics: Polyester is strong and abrasion-resistant, yet nylon is also durable and suitable for heavy-duty use.
Maintenance
Natural: Polyester is low-maintenance and wrinkle-resistant, whereas natural fabrics may shrink and wrinkle, requiring more delicate care.
Synthetics: Acrylic is easy to wash but tends to pill over time, while polyester maintains its shape and resists wrinkles. High heat can damage acrylic, while nylon requires careful washing and drying.
Color Retention
Natural: Polyester absorbs dyes well and resists fading due to its water-resistant properties. Polyester retains color vibrancy better than natural fibers, even after repeated washing and sunlight exposure.
Synthetics: Polyester is more durable, UV resistant, and dries quicker than nylon.
Breathability
Natural: Natural fabrics are more breathable, allowing better air circulation.
Synthetics: Polyester is more breathable than nylon and acrylic.
Moisture Wicking
Natural: Natural fabrics like cotton absorb moisture.
Natural: Polyester is generally more affordable than natural fabrics.
Synthetics: Polyester is more affordable than nylon but comparable in price to acrylic.
Sustainability
Natural: Natural fabrics are biodegradable, while synthetic fabrics, including polyester, are not.
Synthetics: Polyester is recyclable.
How Is Polyester Made?
Like all synthetics, polyester doesn’t come from a plant. Instead, it is chemically produced from derived compounds. While the process varies depending on the type of polyester and the manufacturer, there are five basic steps to creating polyester:
Create a monomer:After being extracted from the earth and transported to a refinery, petroleum is broken down into small molecular ingredients (monomers) that can be used for various applications. The two monomers needed for making polyester are ethylene and p-xylene, extracted from petroleum.
Create a polymer:The monomers are mixed with dimethyl terephthalate, creating the polymer PET (the plastic used in soda and water bottles). PET, in this form, has a honey-like consistency.
Extrude the polymer: Once the PET is formed, it’s extruded to dry and harden. Then, it’s cut into small pellets.
Melt and spin the pellets:The PET pellets are once again melted, and the molten PET is extruded through tiny holes—called spinnerets—to form thread. After these long threads cool, they harden into polyester fibers. The spinneret shapes can be altered to create different fiber qualities.
A yarn is born:The fibers are twisted into polyester yarn and 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, this production process can be modified in various ways. For example, the individual filaments making up the yarn can be made thinner to produce soft and smooth fabrics. The ethylene used in the process can also be altered. When producing plant-based polyester, the source of ethylene is commonly sugarcane rather than petroleum.
Dyeing and Finishing Polyester
Dyeing and finishing are essential processes in polyester fabric production. These steps improve the fabric’s functionality and appearance. Finishing can enhance utility, texture, and color.
The Dyeing and Finishing Process
Before finishing, polyester fabrics must meet performance criteria like stretch, breathability, and weight. Then, various finishing methods are applied—often using heat to achieve specific results. Key steps in completing polyester fabrics include:
Washing and drying: Fabrics are washed with specialized detergents to remove impurities or change appearance, then dried with controlled heat and air.
Heat setting: This process stabilizes the fabric, reduces shrinkage, increases wrinkle resistance, and ensures structural stability.
Calendaring: The fabric passes through heated rollers to compress and smooth fibers, stabilizing texture and appearance.
Dyeing: Techniques like jet, beam, pad, and paddle dyeing are used to achieve the desired effect.
Coating: Coatings are added to modify the fabric, altering characteristics like UV resistance, moisture management, or flame retardance.
Spraying: Dyes and chemicals are applied using controlled hydrostatic nozzles, reducing waste and promoting sustainable chemical management.
Surface modification: Treatments like plasma, flame, and corona alter the fabric’s surface to improve bonding.
Types of Finishes
Polyester finishes fall into two main categories:
Standard finishes: Improve performance and durability, offering qualities like flame retardance, UV resistance, or bacterial protection.
Decorative finishes: Enhance the fabric’s look by altering texture, color, or firmness. Techniques like sanding, napping, or crushing create unique effects and are often used for apparel or home textiles.
Advancements in finishes now include wellness properties, such as aloe, which provides cooling effects to enhance the comfort of the polyester fabric.
At Apex Mills, we’ve enhanced our dyeing and finishing capabilities with investments to improve efficiency, sustainability, and service offerings. Our acquisition of the Insight Textiles facility in Woolwine, Virginia, has introduced cutting-edge equipment for processing warp, circular knits, and stretch fabrics, enabling higher production quality and faster output.
While the sustainability of polyester has been a concern in the past, our facility actively addresses this by adopting eco-friendly dyeing and finishing processes. We reduce waste and energy consumption with advanced technology and efficient production methods, ensuring our polyester fabrics are high-performance and environmentally responsible. Some of our other sustainable processes include:
Diverting 90% of all manufacturing waste from landfills
Omitting Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals from our materials and processing
Exceeding water treatment regulations and recycling wastewater sludge
Recycling our scrap plastics, cardboard, and fabrics
Types of Polyester
The composition of polyester determines its characteristics and applications. Let’s examine three common types of polyester fabric.
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the most common type of polyester. It is durable and inexpensive to produce, ideal for most applications.
Plant-Based Polyester
While polyester can be recycled, it is often recycled into bottles rather than clothing fibers. Compared to the amount of polyester used in textiles, only a small percentage is recycled and reused in new textiles. Plant-based polyester is a biodegradable alternative to petroleum-based options. Ethylene for plant-based polyester is derived from sources like sugarcane or organic waste such as food scraps or sawdust. Although it is biodegradable and more sustainable, it is less popular due to higher costs and relatively lower durability than traditional polyester.
PCDT Polyester
PCDT stands for poly-1, 4-cyclohexylene-dimethylene terephthalate. While PCDT polyester is less popular than PET, it is more elastic and durable, making it 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 a range of items including:
Clothing: From socks and underwear to suits and shirts, polyester fabric is widely used in apparel.
Housewares: Polyester is used in microfiber towels, blankets, curtains, and upholstery. Its moisture-resistant properties make it ideal for pillows, chairs, and cushions, while its insulating qualities make it popular for bedding and sleeping bags.
Automotive: Polyester is used in seatbelts, tire reinforcements, and airbags.
Geosynthetics: Found in civil engineering and construction projects, polyester is used in roads and landfills, for water filtration, drainage, and soil erosion control.
Industrial applications: Polyester is used in bottles, ropes, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), food containers, and other industrial products.
The Cost of Polyester
The price of polyester depends on supply and demand, fiber quality, source, and whether raw materials have been altered. Key factors include:
Polyester pricing is dependent on a few factors:
Price of raw materials: PET is produced by combining Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG) and Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA), derived from crude oil. As the price of oil increases, so does the cost of PTA, affecting the cost of polyester.
Market demand: The automotive sector significantly influences demand. Polyester is used in several car components and a slowdown in automotive production can reduce demand for polyester.
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 from healthcare to the military and have developed custom textile solutions for specific needs.
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