In 1992, Wellman Incorporated developed EcoSpun, a 100 percent postconsumer recycled fiber Wellman manufactures EcoSpun fibers for polyethylene terephthalate bottles. Wellman sorts the recycled bottles by color, puts them through a series of innovative cleaning steps, and chops them into small pieces called flakes. Using direct extrusion, the bottle flake is carefully dried to remove all moisture prior to melting. The polymer melt is distributed to a series of positions each equipped with a meter pump, spin pack, and spinneret. The spun yarn is batched behind a drawframe and drawn in a normal fashion. This process determines the final fiber fineness, denier per filament, and strength of the EcoSpun fiber. Economic conversion of a postconsumer stream of fibers into fine deniers requires significant knowledge of polymer and fiber chemistry, morphology, and staple processing. EcoSpun application include knitwear, T-shirts, soft luggage, blankets, and pillows. 4 refs.