A starting point for a cleaner ocean.

SEAQUAL® YARN is a high quality 100% post-consumer recycled polyester yarn containing Upcycled Marine Plastic from SEAQUAL INITIATIVE. SEAQUAL® YARN is almost identical in physical properties to standard recycled polyester and is available in both continuous filament and staple fiber in a variety of sizes and finishes. SEAQUAL® YARN is used in a multitude of applications including apparel and accessories, contract and automotive upholstery, home furnishings and technical textiles. SEAQUAL® YARN contains approximately 10% Upcycled Marine Plastic (from marine litter), the remaining 90% is post-consumer PET from land sources.

    200 tons of marine litter

    Have been transformed into Upcycled Marine Plastic by SEAQUAL INITIATIVE


    600 tons of waste

    Cleaned from our oceans (estimated)


    60 countries

    Brands and Manufacturers from more than 60 countries have joined our fight against marine litter

FAQ

What is SEAQUAL® YARN?

SEAQUAL® YARN is a high quality 100% post-consumer recycled polyester yarn containing Upcycled Marine Plastic from SEAQUAL INITIATIVE. SEAQUAL® YARN is almost identical in physical properties to standard recycled polyester and is available in both continuous filament and staple fiber in a variety of sizes and finishes. SEAQUAL® YARN is used in a multitude of applications including apparel and accessories, contract and automotive upholstery, home furnishings and technical textiles. SEAQUAL® YARN contains approximately 10% Upcycled Marine Plastic (from marine litter), the remaining 90% is post-consumer PET from land sources.

How is SEAQUAL® YARN made?

Ocean clean-ups collect the marine litter.The marine litter is transported by licensed waste management companies to SEAQUAL INITIATIVE approved sorting centers.The waste is sorted into plastics and non-plastics.The plastic is sorted into different polymer types.Each polymer type is then compressed into ‘bales’ (a large block) for transportation.The ‘bales’ of PET bottles are then sent to a SEAQUAL INITIATIVE approved ‘flake’ producer.The ‘bales’ of PET bottles are opened, and the bottles are shredded into small pieces (‘flakes’). At this stage, other materials such as the bottle tops, labels, glues used on the labels and any residual waste, such as sand, are removed and separated in a washing process.The 100% PET washed ‘flakes’ are then sent to a SEAQUAL INITIATIVE approved ‘chip’ manufacturer (‘chips’ are also known as ‘pellets’ or ‘nurdles’).The chip manufacturer mixes the marine litter PET flakes with post-consumer PET flakes from land sources.The mixed ‘flakes’ are heated until molten and forced through an extruder, where long spaghetti-like ‘threads’ are formed and then chopped into small lengths or ‘chips’The ‘chips’ are sent to the SEAQUAL licensed yarn manufacturer.The SEAQUAL licensed yarn manufacturer ‘melt spins’ the polymer chips. Molten polymer is forced through a spinneret (metal block with tiny holes) and viscous threads fall by gravity, cooling as they fall. Thousands of threads are produced at the same time, with between 34 and 134 threads being used to create each yarn. The threads are combined and wound onto a bobbin at high speed (approximately 300km/h).The bobbins are transported to the texturing plant, where the yarn is given texture.The textured yarn is shipped to SEAQUAL licensed textile manufacturers.

Is SEAQUAL® YARN is recyclable?

Yes, SEAQUAL® YARN is recyclable.

Where does the marine litter come from?

Marine litter for transformation in Europe can be collected from Europe, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and West Africa. Until now, collection has been focused on the European Mediterranean, and the Atlantic coasts of France, Spain and Ghana. Today, all marine litter is transformed by SEAQUAL INITIATIVE in Europe. However, SEAQUAL INITIATIVE recognizes the importance of providing local solutions to global problems and markets and for this reason is in the process of opening operations for transforming locally sourced waste at other strategic locations globally.

Is SEAQUAL® YARN certified?

Yes, all SEAQUAL ® Yarn is certified to OEKO-TEX class 100

Are there any harmful effects from the plastic used?

SEAQUAL ® Yarn has been tested for VOC's and the results show that the emissions are very low (<1μg/g). If you require additional please send us an email on the contact page above.