Recycled Polyester
Recycled Polyester
Polyester fiber made from recycled plastic bottles or textile waste, reducing landfill and petroleum use.
What Is Recycled Polyester?
Recycled polyester, commonly abbreviated as rPET, is polyester yarn produced from post-consumer plastic (primarily PET water and soda bottles) or post-industrial textile waste rather than virgin petroleum. The manufacturing process collects plastic bottles, strips their labels and caps, washes and shreds them into small flakes, melts the flakes into pellets, and then extrudes those pellets through spinnerets to create polyester filament yarn. The end result is chemically identical to virgin polyester.
The environmental advantage is measurable. Producing rPET uses approximately 59% less energy and generates 32% fewer CO2 emissions compared to virgin polyester production. It also diverts plastic from landfills and oceans. In India, where PET bottle waste is a significant environmental challenge, rPET production creates a circular economy that turns waste into wearable products. Major fabric mills in Surat and Silvassa now produce rPET yarn at scale.
For lingerie applications, recycled polyester delivers the same performance characteristics as virgin polyester: excellent colour retention, high tensile strength, resistance to stretching and shrinking, quick-dry moisture management, and low cost. It blends well with spandex for stretch garments and with nylon for a softer hand feel. Modern rPET yarns can be produced in microfiber deniers that rival silk in softness, making them suitable for delicate lingerie construction.
Care for recycled polyester is straightforward and identical to regular polyester. Machine wash in cold or warm water, tumble dry on low heat or hang to dry. The fabric resists wrinkles, so ironing is rarely needed. One consideration: like all polyester, rPET sheds microplastic particles during washing. Using a mesh laundry bag or a microfiber-catching filter on your washing machine reduces this shedding by up to 80%.
How to Wear & Style
Recycled polyester lingerie is ideal for travel and everyday wear because it dries quickly, resists wrinkles, and holds its shape through repeated washing. Pack rPET bralettes and briefs for trips knowing they can be hand-washed in a hotel sink and dry overnight. For swim and resort wear, rPET swimsuits resist chlorine and saltwater degradation better than nylon, maintaining their colour and elasticity across multiple pool and beach seasons.
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Browse SwimwearFrequently Asked Questions
What is recycled polyester?
Polyester fiber made from recycled plastic bottles or textile waste, reducing landfill and petroleum use.
Does recycled polyester feel different from regular polyester?
No. Once processed into fiber, recycled polyester (rPET) is chemically identical to virgin polyester. It has the same strength, stretch, moisture-wicking properties, and colour fastness. You cannot tell the difference by touch or appearance. The only difference is the raw material source: plastic bottles instead of crude oil.
How many plastic bottles go into one recycled polyester garment?
A typical lingerie set uses approximately 3 to 5 recycled PET bottles worth of material. A swimsuit or bodysuit uses 5 to 8 bottles. The bottles are collected, cleaned, shredded into flakes, melted into pellets, and then extruded into polyester yarn. This process uses roughly 59% less energy than producing virgin polyester from petroleum.