EcoSpun EcoSpun fabric is made from fibers of recycled plastic bottles. Picked up at curbside and community recycling centers, PET containers are sorted by type and color, cleaned, crushed and chopped into flake. These tiny pieces are then liquefied and extruded from shower head-like spinnerets creating fibers for crimping, cutting, and baling. The knit or woven fabric is made into a variety of products for apparel and the home. Most significantly, soy ink releases far fewer pollutants into the air during printing than petroleum-based inks.
Soy ink makes press start-up easier, resulting in less paper spoilage.
It also makes press cleanup simpler because it does not require the use of hydrocarbon solvents that are necessary when using petroleum based inks. Most petroleum-based inks are made up of oil and pigment. Traditional petroleum-based inks get their oil from the same source as motor fuel, kerosene, etc. The extraction of crude oil from the Earth is an environmentally costly business. Soy inks, on the other hand, are derived from soybean plants, which are natural CO2 absorbers and are renewable.