-By AnnMarie Marano

The interiors industry is taking cues from those that went before, such as the automotive industry, in utilizing Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycled plastic for a variety of purposes, including cushioning, upholstery, carpet fiber, and beyond.

PET is a thermoplastic polymer resin used in synthetic fibers, as well as food and liquid containers such as soda bottles. "PET has been around for a long time," says Elizabeth Henschel, vice president of design, contract fabrics, Sunbury Textiles Mills. Sunbury is the creator of the NEXT™ brand of PET 100 percent post-consumer polyester fabrics.

Henschel explains, "Our PET products are 100 percent post-consumer polyester—which was not commercially viable until recently—rather than post-industrial, and use fiber derived solely from the consumer waste stream." NEXT™ is both recycled and recyclable at end of use. It takes 16 20-oz. bottles to make just one yard of average weight fabric. "We like to think that whatever those bottles become next, it's better than a fabric that will also end up in a landfill because it cannot be recycled," she says.

Steelcase is currently using PET recycled plastic in the cushioning for its Leap, Think, and Amia chairs, all top-selling models, says Doug Smith, director of engineering for seating for Steelcase. "The primary reason we went to it is because it's 100 percent recyclable." Steelcase purchases the raw material at a 50 percent recycled content rate, and then uses different formulations to create the product. According to Smith, as the quality of the recycled material improved over the years, Steelcase worked diligently to create the right formulations that would achieve the same comfort as foam, or better.

PET can be broken down into post-industrial and post-consumer categories. Post-industrial fibers have been available in the contract industry since the 1990s. "It wasn't until this decade, however, that fiber producers were able to offer post-consumer fabrics with consistent quality, insuring there would not be significant dye-lot variation due to impurities. The fiber now has become a viable option for the contract market, where the focus on quality is key," says Henschel.

The Effloresce Collection from the Momentum Group is constructed using a high percentage of post-consumer yarns. "As post-consumer yarns entered the marketplace, we felt strongly about shifting our focus from post-industrial content to post-consumer," says Shantel McGowan, design director.

Post-consumer recycled polyester also requires as much as 84-percent less energy to produce than virgin polyester, including antimony-free polyester, and creates less carbon dioxide because Sunbury skips the process of converting oil into fiber. Henschel adds, "The raw materials are all sourced from the domestic recycling stream as well, compared with oil that is shipped here from other parts of the globe."