The primary plastic found in fishing nets, clothing, carpets, and packaging is nylon; it accounts for about 10 per cent of all of the ocean’s plastic waste. Nylon is usually discarded without proper care since it costs more to dispose of it effectively. Currently, most companies use nylon waste and convert it into recycled nylon, used for various purposes such as for apparel, surfboard material, creating nylon fabric, recycled plastic activewear and sportswear. This article highlights how recycled nylon benefits both the user and the environment.
- Resilience
Recycled nylon is usually more durable and sturdy; most of them have higher longevity than their regular fabric counterparts. This feature allows robustness to the apparel made of such material. It is for this reason that many companies prefer them for activewear.
- Hygienic
Recycled nylon has a surface property that allows water or fluid to evaporate faster instead of sticking on to the surface like regular clothes. This characteristic enables the wearer to be more comfortable during active sports, and they do not need to worry about unclean, sticky clothing.
- It Uses Less Resources to Produce Than Original Nylon
The conversion of waste nylon to recycled nylon uses lesser resources during production when compared to producing goods from virgin nylon. Recycled nylon, hence, becomes an efficient option; it possesses the same tensile strength as virgin nylon and is environmentally conscious in its production.
- Comfortable Sportswear
With the increase in the number of people participating in sports and other outdoor activities, there is a significant growth in demand for activewear. Most of the recycled sports apparel is made by collecting waste nylon and converting it into elements that one can use to make suitable activewear. The nylon waste is recycled and woven into durable fabrics to create sustainable apparel, like recycled plastic activewear. The nylon fibres have a smoother surface that allows for a simple and comfortable wearing experience.
- Helps In Reducing Environmental Pollution
One of the beneficial qualities of recycled nylon is that it can reduce the amount of water pollution by minimising the volume of plastic waste in the oceans. Sportswear companies pay local fisherman and other groups to find and collect discarded fishing nets as they are a primary source of nylon.
Reducing the number of abandoned fishing nets in the oceans helps marine life to thrive without distress. With the rise in plastic waste in water bodies, there is a significant increase in the existential threat to marine life and the environment.
Most of the plastic waste that is collected helps in checking the amount of nylon waste dumped in water bodies. Moreover, this process derives nylon from pre-existing plastic products; hence the amount of plastic waste produced does not rise substantially.
With plastic waste presumed to overtake marine organisms in the oceans by 2050, the main goal of almost every sportswear company has become clear, and that is to ensure the safe disposal and reuse of the plastic waste dumped into landfills and water bodies. With the rise in consumer demand for recycled fashion and more companies moving in to help curb the crisis of plastic waste, recycled nylon activewear is on the rise as a form of sustainable clothing.
With the global market for activewear expected to reach 547 billion by 2024, it is doubtless that a significant fraction of that will be of recycled and sustainable sports apparel.
Never before has a consumer got to experience saving the environment and looking good while doing so.