There are many different types of fashion textiles available on the market, each having their own background, traits, and applications, including denim, chiffon, poplin, and crepe. Natural fabrics (like silk and linen) and synthetic fabrics (like spandex/lycra and neoprene) make up the majority of fabrics. Polyester is one of the most well-known synthetic materials.
Facts About Polyester
Polyester is present in more than half of the retail clothing items marketed worldwide. From athletic to high fashion, polyester is widely used, yet like all materials, it has advantages and disadvantages. What are polyester’s benefits and drawbacks then?
Polyester is a cheap synthetic material that was created by humans. It resists shrinking and wrinkling, is robust, lightweight, flexible, and is easily coloured. Polyester’s lack of breathability is its major drawback. In humid weather, it can make you feel clammy, sticky, and uncomfortable since it retains heat and perspiration adjacent to your skin.
How Is Polyester Made & What Is Polyester?
Polyester fibers are synthetic, as opposed to natural fibers like wool (which, as you know, comes from sheep).
Plastic manufactured from petroleum is polyester. An acid and an alcohol react with one another through a process known as polymerization. This results in the creation of polyester fibers from the melted plastic.
This procedure produces a strand of polymers that is repeated repeatedly to produce an extraordinarily strong fabric thread.
Polyester fabric saw some popularity highs and lows after its development in the 1930s. Any of you still have memories of the itchy double-knit clothing your grandparents likely wore in the 1950s? One of polyester’s less honorable moments was that!
Then polyester blossomed into the vivid 1960s fashions, and in the 1970s it helped give rise to the printed t-shirt. Polyester is a material that is widely used today, from Easter dresses to Easter decorations to seatbelts!
Benefits of Wearing Polyester
Low Price
Producing polyester shorts is less expensive than producing cotton or wool. Polyester fibers may be generated cheaply in large quantities by mass production. The main benefit of polyester is that it lowers consumer costs as a result.
Some individuals make the distinction between the print quality of cotton and polyester. However, polyester can be printed on, enabling the production of items like extremely affordable printed t-shirts.
To make most fabrics waterproof, special lamination procedures are needed. Polyester has a built-in resistance to moisture. This eliminates the need for manufacturers to use pricey laminating processes.
Durability
Polyester is a durable fabric because it contains long, stable polymers. Polyester benefits from having good shape retention and resists being readily stretched out. Despite its durability, 100% polyester is a supple, light fabric that complements a variety of apparel designs.
Elasticity
100% polyester snaps back into shape after stretching due to its resilience. You can move around freely when wearing polyester garments as a result. When creating clothing that requires a lot of stretch, polyester is frequently combined with another fabric, such as spandex or elastane.
Versatility
The flexibility of polyester to combine with various materials is what gives it its genuine versatility. The strengths of several fiber types are combined to their greatest potential in blended fabrics. Polyester has gently permeated every part of the apparel industry by blending with hundreds of different well-liked textiles!
