Choose recycled polyester fabrics for couches, drapes, chairs and other upholstery. Virgin polyester is made from petroleum, and its production consumes huge amounts of energy... read full tip

Choose recycled polyester fabrics for couches, drapes, chairs and other upholstery. Virgin polyester is made from petroleum, and its production consumes huge amounts of energy and water resources. Compared to upholstering a living room set-sofa, love seat, and chair-with virgin polyester, the use of 100 percent recycled-content fabric will help to conserve about 200 gallons of water and the energy equivalent of five gallons of gasoline.

If half of the polyester fabrics made in the U.S. each year were produced with recycled materials, 62 billion gallons of water and 7.1 billion gallons of oil could be saved annually-not to mention19 billion pounds of plastic waste per year that would otherwise have gone to a landfill.

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