polyester recycling and plastic bottles

Before I got a permanent bottle for water, I was averaging buying one or two bottles of water a month. It wasn't too bad considering I drink between one and three litres a day, depending if it's a gym day. I bought a water filter last year which made tap water heaps more drinkable. Recycling is all well and good but when you think about the non-renewable raw material and the amount of energy that goes into one plastic bottle, for it to contain half or so a litre of water for not very long, well, it's just not a very efficient use of a very durable material, is it? So, I tried to make the most of each bottle that I bought. But no more. Mine is aluminium, and I wash it once a day - by hand. I do have a dishwasher but hardly ever use it. Earlier, another council in Sydney announced they'll ban bottled water to reduce waste. Of course there was a reaction from the bottled water industry, one that didn't acknowledge the problematic nature of recycling.

From Ecotextile News, more worrying news about the issue. Apparently the demand for fabrics made from recycled bottles is so high now that some manufacturers of recycled polyester textiles have resorted to buying new, unused bottles directly from bottle manufacturers. As the article points out, this has implications for companies using these textiles that don't have full knowledge of their supply chains. It probably is easier to keep things transparent the shorter those chains are.

On a lighter note, if you're still not convinced that the era of the plastic bottle is coming to a close (like mobile phones, we didn't carry water bottles in the eighties), this (#76) might help.

something good

Trying to stay on top of things, and up-to-date with EVERYTHING (ha!), I now get daily Google alerts on 20, 30, 40 topics a day; most on things relating to my thesis and, ahem, a few relating to birds. (Have you seen my del.icio.us? Nerd.) You can specify News, Web, Blogs, Video or Comprehensive. I get Comprehensive, daily, for each search term (e.g. "green fashion", "eco-fashion", "sustainable fashion", "green clothing", "green apparel" and so it goes...) Thanks mainly to blogging, my inbox fills with more crap every morning than those portaloos along the City2Surf route (I had to go during last year's run so know what I'm talking about). That's how that stupid "cotton is great (if it's Jag Apparel)" post came to annoy me. Today, an absolute gem: Reflections of an Angry Shopgirl. The post is brilliant. And I love the cranky writing. Through friends I'm aware what a nightmare to spare time running a shop can be, but I hope she can keep the blog going even intermittently.

The Angry Shopgirl's attention to detail reminded me of something that I've been thinking about ever since I started this project: what the hell am I going to sew everything with? Polyester/cotton threads are generally much stronger than cotton or threads from other natural fibres; the durability argument. But cradle-to-cradle and "monstrous hybrids" as McDonough and Braungart put it; I don't know. Though of course, IF I do some 100% polyester things, they'll be sewn with 100% polyester threads, and when they are all over and done with after many, many years of loving wear and care, Patagonia or Kate Goldsworthy can upcycle them into new beautiful things. But say, for example, organic cotton thread: where will I get the range of colours (hundreds) that something like Rasant, from Ackermann, offers? I think I'll ask Ackermann. If there is no demand, there will be no supply.

Speaking of, I expect to hear back for my inquiry regarding the recycled textiles from The Smith Family in the next few days; I'd like to use some in the collection, with those monstrous hybrids whispering in my ears about downcycling. Report to come.