Polyester+ Spandex
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High quality lace, Soft to touch and breathable, We accept 30 days money back!
Casual Long Sleeve tops, crew neck, ballon sleeve with lace arms, knit top, solid, raglan shirt, loose fit t shirts
Long sleeve shirt with lace design, provides a flattering and elegant look. shows good figure
What Is Polyester Made Of ? difference between polyester and cotton
Polyester (polyethylene terephthalate) is derived from a chemical reaction involving petroleum, air, and water. This artificial fiber is comprised of purified
terephthalic acid (PTA) and monotheluene glycol (MEG).
Polyester is thermoplastic, meaning it can be melted and reformed. When making polyester, chemists melt polyester pellets and force them through small holes
(spinnerets). On the exit side of the spinnerets, the continuous filaments of what we know as polyester fibers solidify. The size and shape of the hole dictate
the shape and diameter of the fibers. The fibers are solid polymer; there are no void spaces inside the fibers. These continuous filaments—called “tow”—can be
cut to any length (there is no length distribution, all fibers are manufactured to be perfectly homogeneous) to produce staple fibers for use in textiles and
nonwovens, or they can be left as a continuous monofilament, which resembles fishing line.
Polyester Properties
Polyester is hydrophobic. For this reason, polyester fabrics don’t absorb perspiration, or other fluids, leaving the wearer with a moist, clammy feel. Polyester
fibers typically have a low level of wicking. Relative to cotton, polyester is stronger, with a greater ability to stretch. Fiber strength can range
from 2.5 grams/denier to 9.5 grams/denier.
Environmentally concerned purchasers frown on polyester use. Since it’s a man-made fiber derived from petroleum-based products, polyester is not considered
sustainable, nor is it biodegradable.
Advantages of Polyester
Low Cost
Polyester production costs less than manufacturing cotton or wool. Polyester fibers can be mass-produced in enormous quantities at a low cost.
This results in a lower cost for the consumer, which is the greatest advantage of polyester.
Some people point out a difference in quality between printing on polyester and printing on cotton. However, you can print on polyester, which
allows for the creation of things like very cheap printed t-shirts.
Most fabrics require special laminating treatments to make them waterproof. Polyester is naturally water-resistant. This means that manufacturers
do not have to apply costly lamination treatments.
Durability
Polyester’s long, stable polymers make this fabric strong and resilient. Because of this, Polyester also holds its shape well and doesn’t easily get stretched out.
Despite its strength, 100% polyester is a supple, lightweight fabric that works well for many styles of clothing.
Elasticity
Because of its resilient nature,100% polyester snaps back into shape after stretching. It has a bit of natural give to its fabric, though. This allows for freedom
of movement while you are wearing polyester garments. Polyester is often blended with another fabric such as spandex or elastane for clothes that need a lot of
stretchiness.
Versatility
The true versatility of polyester lies in its ability to blend with other fabrics. Blended fabrics maximize the strengths of multiple kinds of fibers in one fabric.
Polyester has subtly infiltrated all aspects of the garment industry by sneaking into dozens of other popular fabrics as a blend!
One of the best-known polyester blends is polycotton, which has taken over a huge percentage of the t-shirt market. A cozy polyester-spandex blend often
shows up in garments like yoga pants and workout gear.
Polyester’s ability to hold its shape when it is heat-set into things like pleats and curves give it shape versatility as well. This adds to the appeal of
polyester in the ready-wear garment industry.
Finally, polyester fabric can be dyed cheaply and easily during its production. This means that polyester is versatile in terms of coloring as well.
Moisture-Wicking
Like many synthetic fabrics, polyester has moisture-wicking abilities. If you wear a polyester t-shirt on your morning jog, the fabric will draw the moisture
of your sweat away from your skin and out through the polyester. (Though temperature does dramatically impact this process, as you will see later on).
Heat Resistant
Polyester fabric has high flame resistance, which means it takes a lot to make polyester actually burst into flame. Because of this, polyester is one of
the most popular fabrics for use in children’s sleepwear, which has high standards for heat resistance!
However, as you will see in the disadvantages section, polyester does melt at high heat, which carries significant risk.
Mildew and Chemical Resistant
The synthetic fibers of polyester give it natural mildew and chemical resistance that add to its durability. It takes a lot to damage polyester fabric in any way.
Weather Resistant
Polyester’s natural water-resistance causes water to bead on its surface instead of soaking through.
Polyester is not waterproof, though. Enough water pressure will eventually penetrate the fabric. Increasing the thread count in polyester fabric increases
its water-resistance.
Polyester often serves as at least one of the layers in jackets and coats because of its weather-resistant nature.
UV/Light Resistant
Polyester fabric provides high UV protection. As with any fabric, though, if you can see the sunlight through it, the sunlight can reach you! It’s important to
take additional protective steps such as wearing sunscreen.
Easy Care
Aside from its low cost, the best quality of polyester is its easy maintenance.
Polyester is quick-drying, which means you can easily hang it up to drip-dry in your shower. It is machine washable and can be dry cleaned.
It is highly wrinkle-resistant, so you can wear it all day without looking scruffy by dinnertime. Finally, it is highly stain-resistant because it does
not easily absorb liquids.
Comfort
Of course, if you intend to wear polyester, the question of comfort is key! On the spectrum of fabric softness, polyester ranks somewhere between cotton and
cashmere. It feels light and silky against your skin.
Disadvantages of Polyester
Lack of Breathability
The biggest complaint most people voice about polyester is its lack of breathability. Polyester fibers, which are essentially plastic, do not facilitate airflow.
Many people prefer the natural, loose weave of cotton that is far more breathable.
Lack of Moisture Absorption
While polyester does wick moisture away, its lack of breathability means that it does not absorb the sweat from a person’s skin. In hot or humid weather,
polyester will often cling to your sweaty skin very unpleasantly.
Most athletic wear uses a poly blend to avoid this issue. Polycotton merges the moisture-wicking ability of polyester with the breathability of cotton.
This mitigates the stickiness of 100% polyester and the dampness of 100% cotton.
Environmental Concerns
Environmentally conscious consumers list many valid concerns about the dangers of polyester.
The polyester production process involves a lot of energy and impacts greenhouse gasses. On top of that, any product made from fossil fuels is not sustainable.
Polyester is also not biodegradable. Some studies indicate that polyester fabric will not degrade even over a period of 50 years!
Finally, the cheap, easy production of polyester definitely boosts quick fashion. This adds to the problem of fashion waste. How many of you have bought a
cheap dress for a special occasion, and thrown it out a year later when you no longer needed it?
Flammability
While polyester has a high burn point, it does melt more easily than you might think. This can cause serious injuries. If polyester melts onto you, it will
actually fuse to your skin and will require professional medical treatment.
In less scary but still annoying circumstances, polyester will melt under high iron settings. It can also become mishappen if your dryer heat is set too high.
Holds odors
Because it lacks breathability, polyester can hold onto odors. It’s also tricky to get grease and oil stains out of polyester.
Comfort Issues
Obviously, polyester’s lack of breathability can impact comfort. People also complain that polyester can hold a static charge, causing issues with static
electricity (if you have long hair, you have probably taken off a winter coat and watched your hair stand straight out from your head as it clings to the coat!).
Some polyester blends are prone to pilling as well. Pilling is that thing where a little bump of loose thread breaks free from the weave and appears on the
surface of the fabric.
Health Concerns
Polyester fabric is non-hypoallergenic. It contains chemicals that can cause hormone issues and create skin allergies.
Some people also worry that the chemicals used in polyester production are dangerous in their own right.
What Can You Use Polyester For?
What can you use polyester for? Well…pretty much everything! You can find polyester in the garment industry, but it also makes a strong showing in household products,
upholstery, and carpeting.
Polyester is used in:
Athletic wear
T-shirts
Dresses, dress shirts, and bottoms like pencil skirts and dress pants. (Polyester makes excellent pleats because it holds its shape so well!)
Household items like bedsheets, tablecloths, and curtains
Upholstery (polyester fabric’s water-resistance makes it an excellent, durable upholstery material).
Rugs and carpets (the tensile strength of polyester fibers make them a tough and long-lasting carpeting material).
Examples of Polyester Products
Let’s look at a few more specific examples of polyester uses.
Swimwear: Almost all swimsuits contain polyester. Its elasticity and water-resistance make it the perfect choice for swimwear!
Rain jacket: Many raincoats contain polyester because of polyester’s water-resistance.
Jersey/polycotton t-shirts: Stretchy and breathable polycotton steals the show. A huge part of the t-shirt market uses a polycotton blend! 100% cotton, 100% polyester,
and the newer tri-blend fabrics remain popular t-shirt materials, though.
Seatbelts: Believe it or not, polyester also makes a strong showing in a number of industrial fabric areas like seatbelts! Its natural strength makes it a good choice
for this important product.
Is Polyester Fabric Good or Bad Material?
Polyester fabric is an excellent material if your main concern is affordability. On the other hand, some people consider polyester fabric a bad material because its
production is harmful to the environment. Your answer to this question depends on your priorities!
Here’s the thing: you probably have a closet full of fun, brightly-colored clothes. Many of them undoubtedly contain polyester! Who doesn’t love walking into Target,
TJ Maxx, or J.C Penny to browse the racks and racks of affordable clothes?
When you think about it, this easy access to cheap fashion didn’t exist even a hundred years ago. Your great-grandparents probably owned only a few sets of clothing.
They knew how to darn holes, let hems down, and treat stains and wrinkles to make those clothes last.
Today you probably zip out to the store and buy a new blouse to give yourself a confidence boost when you have a big presentation coming up at work. Or you buy a
new dress for your friend’s wedding, because what if someone remembers that you wore your other dresses last year at other weddings?
Man-made fibers are gaining popularity compared to the natural fibres in recent times. One of them is the spandex fiber which has captured the garment industry.
Spandex is a lightweight, soft smooth synthetic fiber which has a unique elasticity. Due to its elastic property, it is used in making stretchable clothing.
It is also known as 'elastane' in Europe and many other parts of the world.
Spandex is made of synthetic polymer called polyurethane which has extraordinary stretch ability. The long chain of polymer is produced by reacting polyester
with diisocyanate which contains at least 85% polyurethane. Spandex is strong, durable and was first invented at DuPont's laboratory in 1959, in Virginia.
Many areas of the garment industry were transformed after its arrival.
Characteristics of Spandex Fiber
The spandex fiber is of better quality, light, supple and more adaptable compared to rubber. The fibers are made of innumerable polymer strands, because of which
it possesses unique elastic property. Moreover, this fiber can stretch up to 500% of its length. The fiber is resistant to wear and tear caused by sweat, detergents,
body oils, lotions, etc. When spandex fabric is used in garments, it prevents bagging or sagging of the material.
Garments made of spandex gives perfect fit and comfort. Further, in spite of repeated stretching, it will retain its original length and shape. Fabrics with
spandex are abrasion resistant and have negligible damage from 'needle cutting' when sewn, whereas in other elastic materials the needle sometimes causes damage.
Production of Spandex fiber
Melt extrusion, reaction spinning, solution dry spinning and solution wet spinning are the main methods of producing spandex fibers; the first step being
production of prepolymer in each process, which further is reacted in various methods to produce long spandex fiber. 'Solution dry spinning' method is the
most used method to produce spandex. Almost 90% of spandex fibers produced in the world are manufactured using this method.
Uses of spandex
It is well known that spandex is highly used in the apparel industry. However, this is also a useful fabric for hospitality and industrial organizations.
Spandex fabrics are mostly used in garments where comfort and fit both are required like hosiery, swimsuits, exercise wear, socks, surgical hose, undergarments,
gloves, cycling shorts, wrestling suits, rowing suits, specialized clothing like zentai suits, motion capture suits, denims, etc.
sp2.jpgSports apparel and accessories industry particularly make use of spandex in making many items. Spandex garments are perfect for athletes and cyclists,
as it helps to reduce any resistance to wind. This makes it an ideal garment for competitive cyclists and runners. Spandex fabric is also known to provide
support due to which sport bras are produced using this fabric.
Spandex is not only used in sport garments but even used for manufacturing sport accessories like volleyballs and soccer balls. Just as spandex is useful for
apparel industry, similarly it is also favorable for the industrial applications. Items made from rubber are now made with spandex. Medical industry is using spandex instead of latex in producing many products such as rubber tubing, hosing and knee or back braces.
It is also used in producing household products like fitted sheets and microbead pillows. One of the lesser known uses of spandex is for interior decoration and
event planning. For example, spandex fabric is used for table coverings and latex chair coverings.
Instead of the conventional table cloth, a well fitted spandex table covering will give a modern look to the dining area. Nowadays, chair covering and chair bands
made from spandex are more used as cloth shrinks after long use, while spandex fabric fits perfectly and can be used for a long time.
Disadvantages of Spandex
As discussed earlier, there are many advantages of spandex fabric with its flexibility, durability, comfort, fit and so on. However, it also has few disadvantages.
Spandex material is not a breathable fabric and traps moisture, sweat, bad odor within the garment which may lead to skin infection. These issues can be removed by
combining cotton or other breathable materials with spandex.
Spandex is very sensitive to heat due its chemical formation and does not absorb liquid. Hence, washing spandex in hot water, using iron or machine drying can
permanently damage the fabric. Further, the smooth and slippery surface of spandex creates lack of friction, which may sometimes pose risk to the wearer. Blending
spandex with other fibers will resolve most of its disadvantages. Hence, one can find variety of garments in blend with spandex in the stores.
Spandex has come out far from its origin days and has become the most popular fiber on fashion front today. Whether it is sportswear or men's suits, bed linens
to shoes, women's wear to medical products, this fiber has captured every field and is in great demand globally. According to a report almost 80% of the clothing
sold in America contains spandex.
Current market trends
The demand for spandex is anticipated to increase at the rate of 6% annually by 2017. The latest reports published in March 2013, states that Asia (excluding Japan)
had a total consumption of 70% spandex in 2012, as it is the major producer of spandex and will cover nearly three-fourth of the total global consumption by the year
2017.
It further states that China contributes towards 30% of global production and 50% of global consumption of spandex. There are upcoming new projects in China that
will cater to the country's rapidly growing demand for spandex. At present, a Korean company is the largest spandex producer in the world. Today's consumers are
educated and demanding. With new consumers entering the market, the fiber is developing in various dimensions to give complete consumer satisfaction.
Since its inception, the quality of spandex fibers has improved and will continue to improve with the help of research and technology. The development in the
spandex fibers will result into more superior fabrics that can be produced combining traditional fibers with spandex fibers. Also, new improved methods for
manufacturing spandex more efficiently are needed.
It has already entered the auto sector and is used in making door panel, as it sticks to the door properly. In future, spandex will also dominate the market for
fashionable furniture and can be truly termed as the 'Gen-next fibre'.
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