Green is the new black

Because polyester makes up a huge chunk of the global fiber market, recycling it is gentler on the environment than producing brand-new polyester.

Recycling reduces the need for virgin raw materials and avoids the destruction of habitat resulting from the search for raw materials, says Lynda Grose, associate professor of fashion design at California College of the Arts and co-founder of Esprit's eco-fashion line.

Manufacturing polyester fiber from plastic bottles saves on nonrenewable energy (polyester comes from petroleum) and has a smaller impact on global warming, according to a 2010 paper on bottle-to-fiber recycling by faculty at Utrecht University.