Carvico has introduced the first PBT fabric in a recycled version using a combination with sustainable fibre repreve. This is in wake of the fact that now in the technical fabrics in swim competition segment, plastic bottles are resurrected to give a green ethos to them. Hence, the technical performance of PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) is combined with an ecological and eco-sustainable soul by Melville.
This new fabric consists of 45 per cent PBT polyester and 55 per cent Repreve recycled polyester, which is a sustainable fibre manufactured completely from post-consumer plastic that is originally used in the food industry (PET). Thus, the new fibre is made of 100 per cent polyester.
Unifi is a company that operates in the textile segment and is equipped with a modern production plant that processes around 250,000 used bottles per hour, thus eliminating them from the debris. Repreve is patented by Unifi.
A second life for plastic bottles is the aim of the production process. Hence, PET containers are washed and ground into fragments that are then melted and transformed into chips. Then, these chips are re-melted and converted into Repreve yarn. This is used by Carvico to manufacture Melville, the technical performance fabric, which, for the very first time, is available in a recycled version.
Melville is engineered for the production of training and competition swimsuits that are designed to guarantee high performance, comfort and durability. They also have characteristics such as stretch, protection from UV rays, chlorine resistance, shape retention, pilling resistance, and fast drying.
