page_title: Polypropylene
section_title: Clothing
hierarchical_section_title: Polypropylene / Applications / Clothing
caption_attribution_description: English: Polypropeen (PP): Enkadrain PP geotextile, PP yarn, woven PP and Bigbag from woven PP. Tray and samples of the textile cabinet in the Textielmuseum in Tilburg. Cabinet interior made by Simone de Waart, Material Sense. Nederlands: Polypropeen (PP): Enkadrain PP geotextiel, PP garen, geweven PP and geweven PP Bigbag. Lade en monsters van het textielkabinet in het Textielmuseum te Tilburg. Textielkabinet gemaakt door Simone de Waart van Material Sense.
context_page_description: Polypropylene, also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene.
  Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins and is partially crystalline and non-polar. Its properties are similar to polyethylene, but it is slightly harder and more heat resistant. It is a white, mechanically rugged material and has a high chemical resistance. Polypropylene is the second-most widely produced commodity plastic and it is often used in packaging and labeling. In 2019, the global market for polypropylene was worth $126.03 billion.
context_section_description: Polypropylene is a major polymer used in nonwovens, with over 50% used for diapers or sanitary products where it is treated to absorb water (hydrophilic) rather than naturally repelling water (hydrophobic). Other non-woven uses include filters for air, gas, and liquids in which the fibers can be formed into sheets or webs that can be pleated to form cartridges or layers that filter in various efficiencies in the 0.5 to 30 micrometre range. Such applications occur in houses as water filters or in air-conditioning-type filters. The high surface-area and naturally oleophilic polypropylene nonwovens are ideal absorbers of oil spills with the familiar floating barriers near oil spills on rivers.
  Polypropylene, or 'polypro', has been used for the fabrication of cold-weather base layers, such as long-sleeve shirts or long underwear. Polypropylene is also used in warm-weather clothing, in which it transports sweat away from the skin. Polyester has replaced polypropylene in these applications in the U.S. military, such as in the ECWCS. Although polypropylene clothes are not easily flammable, they can melt, which may result in severe burns if the wearer is involved in an explosion or fire of any kind. Polypropylene undergarments are known for retaining body odors which are then difficult to remove. The current generation of polyester does not have this disadvantage.
  Some fashion designers have adapted polypropylene to construct jewelry and other wearable items.
caption: Various polypropylene yarns and textiles
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