1. Differences in production processes
The production process of ordinary cotton yarn mainly includes steps such as picking, cleaning, combing, and spinning of cotton, and the raw materials come from newly picked cotton. The production of Recycle Cotton OE Yarn is different. Its main raw materials come from discarded cotton textiles, discarded textile raw materials, or cotton waste generated during the production process. These wastes are processed through cleaning, crushing, combing, spinning and other reprocessing steps to finally make recycled cotton yarn.
Specifically, the production process of Recycle Cotton OE Yarn includes the following key steps:
Cleaning: Thoroughly clean the discarded cotton materials to remove impurities, oil stains, etc.
Crushing: Crush the waste materials into raw materials suitable for spinning.
Carding: Use carding equipment to sort the fibers, remove short fibers and impurities, and make the fibers more uniform.
Spinning: Use open-end spinning (OE spinning) technology to spin the fibers into yarn. The characteristic of OE spinning technology is that it uses fewer equipment and process steps, which can effectively improve production efficiency.
Unlike ordinary cotton yarn, the production of Recycle Cotton OE Yarn relies more on the reprocessing of waste resources, so the selection and processing of raw materials are more demanding.
2. Environmental protection comparison
One of the biggest advantages of Recycle Cotton OE Yarn is its significant environmental benefits. The production process of traditional cotton yarn consumes a large amount of natural cotton resources, and cotton planting requires a lot of water, fertilizers and pesticides, resulting in certain resource waste and environmental pollution. Recycled cotton yarn reduces dependence on new cotton and reduces resource consumption by recycling and reprocessing discarded cotton materials.
In addition, the production process of recycled cotton yarn can also effectively reduce the emission of textile waste. In textile production, discarded textiles and production waste account for a considerable proportion, and these wastes are often eventually landfilled or incinerated, causing environmental pollution. By recycling these materials, Recycle Cotton OE Yarn can reduce the generation of waste, which is conducive to resource reuse and environmental protection.
III. Comparison of performance characteristics
Strength and durability: Since Recycle Cotton OE Yarn is made by recycling discarded cotton materials, these raw materials may have been used for the first time, so the strength and toughness of the fiber may be slightly inferior to that of ordinary cotton yarn. Ordinary cotton yarn uses fresh cotton, which has high fiber strength and is suitable for making textiles with high strength requirements. Recycle Cotton OE Yarn may be slightly lower in strength and durability, but it can still meet the needs for some light or decorative fabrics.
Comfort: Due to the different sources of raw materials, the fineness and smoothness of Recycle Cotton OE Yarn may not be as good as ordinary cotton yarn. Therefore, fabrics made of recycled cotton yarn may feel slightly inferior to traditional cotton fabrics. Especially in high-quality, delicate clothing and bedding, the softness and comfort of ordinary cotton yarn are more prominent.
Hygroscopicity: Traditional cotton yarn has strong hygroscopicity and is suitable for various summer clothing and underwear and other fabrics that require high hygroscopicity. Recycle Cotton OE Yarn is similar to ordinary cotton yarn in terms of hygroscopicity, but due to the fiber processing and regeneration process, its hygroscopicity may be slightly affected, especially in a high humidity environment.
Appearance and color: Due to the complex source of raw materials for recycled cotton yarn, there may be uneven colors or foreign matter. Therefore, after dyeing and processing, recycled cotton yarn may present a slightly different color effect from ordinary cotton yarn. In some textiles with high requirements for appearance, ordinary cotton yarn may have more advantages.