POLYESTER
CHARACTERISTICS:
- Polyester fabrics and fibers are extremely strong.
- Resistant to stretching and shrinkage
- Washable or dry-cleanable
- Quick drying
- Resilient, wrinkle resistant, excellent pleat retention (if heat set)
- Abrasion resistant
- Resistant to most chemicals
When blended with cotton, polyester improves the shrinkage, durability, and wrinkling profile of this widely-produced natural fiber. Polyester fabric is highly resistant to environmental conditions, which makes it ideal for long-term use in outdoor applications.
MAJOR END USES:
- Apparel - essentially every form of clothing, dresses, blouses, jackets, sportswear, suits, shirts, pants, rainwear, lingerie, childrenswear
- Home Fashions - curtains, draperies, floor coverings, fiber fill, upholstery, bedding.
POLYESTER CARE TIPS
- Taking care of polyester clothing is really easy and very time efficient.
- Polyester clothing can be machine washed and dried. Adding a fabric softener generally helps.
- Dry the fabric at low temperatures to get maximum usage from the clothing.
- Though polyester does not require much ironing, if you must then iron warm.
- Polyester can be dry-cleaned with no hassles.
Comment - Of all the manufactured fibers, polyester is the most used. Polyester is the best wash-and-wear fiber. Unfortunately, because of the over-saturation of polyester 20 to 30 years ago, some consumers maintain a negative perception about the fiber. But, that is changing. As with the other manufactured fibers, new developments in polyester have created a new attitude towards manufactured fibers. This is true, not only for manufacturers and designers, but also for consumers. In addition, when polyester is blended with other dry-clean only fibers, like wool, acetate, or rayon, the durability of the blended fabric improves and, in some cases, the fabrics can even be made washable, if the percentage of polyester is high enough.
