How to distinguish between PET recycled materials and rPET

rPET uses collected plastics used by consumers (post-consumer plastics) to be re-granulated as a product after sorting, crushing, washing, dehydration, and drying. Part of it is added to other plastic products to reduce post-consumption The amount of plastic that flows directly into the natural environment, following the sustainable development concept of green, environmental protection and ecology.

PET is the abbreviation of the chemical substance polyethylene terephthalate. It is the most widely used material in the polyester family. It is durable and lightweight. Since the 1970s, PET containers have been widely used in packaging beverages, food, personal care products and household products.

In the past 50 years, global plastic usage has increased by 20 times, and will double in the next 20 years. It is estimated that by 2050, global plastic production will reach 1.124 billion tons. As of the end of 2018, China's PET bottle-grade chip production capacity ranked first with 11.09 million tons/year, accounting for 35%.

At present, global waste plastics total 6.3 billion tons, of which only 9% is recycled, 12% is incinerated, 79% is landfilled or accumulated in the natural environment, and PET is a typical plastic material, if it is placed in In the natural environment, it can exist in the environment for up to 500 years.
The rPET field that has received much attention

On the positive side, PET is 100% recyclable, which is why the rPET field is so attractive compared to other plastics. In order to make better use of PET, the post-consumer PET materials are collectively transported to the factory and converted into rPET flakes or pellets that can be used to produce new products through a series of processing methods.

In addition to continuing to use rPET for the reproduction of PET bottles, rPET can also be spun into fibers or filaments for use in clothing, home textiles, footwear and other production fields. In fact, fiber is the most widely used field in the global recycled rPET industry, accounting for 44.81% of the industry's total as of 2019.

Recognizing the powerful appeal of rPET, major global manufacturers have incorporated rPET materials into their sustainable development plans in related fields.

Outdoor sports brand Patagonia claims that 69% of all its materials in the past two years will come from recycled materials.
 
IKEA also stated that it will replace all virgin polyester textile products with rPET in the near future and only use renewable or recycled materials by 2030.