A Comparison of Physical and Visual-Tactile Properties between Virgin and Recycled Polyester Woven Fabrics

Background/Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of substituting recycled polyester woven fabrics for virgin polyester woven fabrics. To this end, the various physical and visual-tactile properties of virgin and recycled polyester fabrics with similar structural properties were compared. Methods: As physical properties, the tensile strength, elongation, abrasion strength, flex stiffness, and crease resistance of the two types of polyester woven fabrics were measured five times under standard laboratory condition. The subjective visual-tactile assessments were also conducted by 40 male and female subjects with normal color vision using seven-point Likert scales. Results: In terms of tensile strength, elongation, and abrasion strength, virgin polyester woven fabric showed numerically better results than recycled polyester woven fabric, while recycled polyester fabric had higher values in flex stiffness and crease resistance. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two polyester fabrics in all physical properties. In addition, recycled polyester woven fabric was found to have more positive visual-tactile properties than virgin polyester woven fabric in general. Conclusion/Implications: Since recycled polyester fabric was found to have similar or more positive physical and visual-tactile properties to virgin polyester fabric, it is envisaged that eco-friendly recycled polyester will be a successful alternative to virgin polyester.