Textile Exchange

The production of polyester fibers accounts for about 40-45% of total global annual fiber production.¹ Polyester is made from petroleum-based chemicals; its raw material is crude oil, which is the same source as gasoline. Polyester production involves a number of different processes, including refining the oil, breaking it into chemicals, and creating the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer, which is then extruded and spun into polyester fibers. Polyester production is energy-intensive and relies on a finite, non-renewable natural resource that we utilize in many other ways as part of everyday life for energy, fuel, and plastics production. About 65-70 percent of global polyester production is used for textiles, of which more than 65 percent is produced in China.² The majority of the remaining 25-30 percent is used in the manufacture of PET beverage bottles.

1- http://www.oerlikontextile.com/Portaldata/1/Resources/saurer_textile_sol...

2- http://www.oerlikontextile.com/Portaldata/1/Resources/saurer_textile_sol...