Have you ever imagined that polyethylene terephthalate or PET plastic bottles, globally-despised and reviled for being non-biodegradable and for its harmful effects to the environment, can become something beneficial to society — and also a fashionable fabric at the same time?

Yes, plastic can definitely become a form of fabric and apparently, the liking for this new fabric phenomenon has taken off dramatically since it was developed. According to top mountaineer Regidor “Regie” Pablo, founder of Revolve, the country’s first and only apparel company that use environment-friendly material for its clothing line, recycled PET shirts are now very popular in many countries, and even well-known apparel brands are now using materials made out of recycled PET bottles.

He said that recycled PET bottles were made into souvenir shirts that were used during the Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 were made of PET fabric. “Especially for this year’s FIFA World Cup in Africa, around 9-12 national teams of participating countries will also use uniforms made of recycled PET fabrics. It’s really becoming popular,” Pablo enthused.

At present, Pablo said recycled PET fabrics are manufactured mainly in India and China but majority of shirt production using recycled PET fabric is done in China. Even the Philippines joined in the fray, where Revolve is the first company in the Philippines that introduced this technological innovation in the production of its bags and apparel made out of environmentally-responsible fabrics.

So how does ordinary PET bottle end up in the dumpsite and transform to become a regular shirt using recycled materials? There’s not much difference from the traditional way of producing a fabric using virgin polyester, according to Pablo. The only difference is that the raw material comes from about-to-be-thrown plastic bottles. Once sorted, they are then grinded into flakes. After that, they undergo a procedure called “polymerization” where the flakes become chips and turned into filament yarn. Once turned into filament yarn, they are then weaved to achieve the desired fabric texture and dyed according to color requirements.

In terms of look and feel and the overall quality of shirts that use recycled PET fabric and the traditional polyester shirts, there’s also not much difference, says Pablo. “They undergo practically the same weaving or knitting process so the end product is also the same, even in terms of durability.”
Perhaps, the only differences would be the raw material used in the production of the fabric — in this case the recycled PET bottles — the amount of fossil fuel and heat energy used in the production process and, lead time in fabric production.

The good thing about this realization, says Pablo, is that it sparked a global awareness about the need to use recycled materials in almost everything, including apparel. He said that there is now a growing trend and conscious effort among apparel manufacturers to produce eco-friendly products.

“This is the industry’s response to the clamor from consumers that they should also be part in resolving the environmental problems that confront us right now,” he added.

He cited as an example the Ayala Group of Companies, one of few companies in the Philippines with active, long-term and relevant CSR activities. The group conducted a running event called “Run For Home” last March wherein the runners who participated in the event used recycled PET shirts.

Another Ayala Group company, Globe Telecom, a leading telecommunications provider in the Philippines, also used the recycled PET fabric in one of their CSR events. Just recently, Globe spearheaded the Cordillera Challenge held at the mountains of Benguet to spark environmental awareness among Globe employees by challenging them to participate in a grueling 40-km bike ride from La Trinidad to Kapangan, Benguet and raise funds to plant trees. For this activity, the bike riders used jerseys made of recycled PET fabrics and emblazoned with a nationalistic and environment-related design that invoked patriotism and deep love and care for the environment.

Pablo said the use of shirts with recycled PET fabric through the two events mentioned is just the beginning, and the use of recycled PET shirts is not limited to sporting events since it has many applications. As long as a product requires a form of fabric, according to Pablo, then it can surely make good use of recycled PET fabric — if only to protect the environment from further harm.