A Comparative Study of Cotton/PES Knitted Fabrics Produced from Recycled Fiber-Based and Virgin Yarns

This study deals with the effects of recycled fiber usage and repeated laundering on air permeability and bursting strength properties of knitted fabrics in three basic fabric structures. For this purpose, recycled and virgin cotton and polyester fibers were used in various combinations in fabric production. Fabrics were subjected to repeated laundering under different temperatures and varying washing cycles and were dried with two different drying methods. It has been determined that knitted fabrics produced from recycled cotton containing polyester yarns give similar results to fabrics produced from virgin fibers in terms of air permeability and bursting strength. It was suggested to use recycled cotton/virgin polyester yarns in the knitted fabric production to achieve fabrics with high air permeability and compatible bursting strength values. Moreover, artificial neural networks were used to predict the air permeability and bursting strength of produced fabrics before and after repeated laundering. The obtained regression values were over 99% for both properties. Finally, it can be said that artificial neural networks could be used to predict air permeability and bursting strength of recycled cotton and PES-based knitted fabrics successfully. The results of this research can help manufacturers to choose the effectual fiber content and knitted fabric construction to achieve the intended performance properties in fabrics made from recycled and virgin cotton and polyester blends.