Making sustainable car seats from recycled plastic bottles

Skoda has developed a sustainable yarn created from recycled plastic bottles. Photo: AFP

Car manufacturers are making efforts to include more recycled materials in the construction of their new models. The latest example is Skoda, which is introducing seat covers made from wool and recycled disposable bottles in its Enyaq iV.

The automaker is working with suppliers and the scientific community on various innovative materials that will then be used in mass production.

For these seat covers, the Czech carmaker combined wool with recycled polyester from disposable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.

To create the fabric, bottles are crushed, melted and then turned into granules. These granules are then used to make a yarn, which is the basis for this particularly strong fabric.

To elaborate this process, Skoda worked with its Czech supplier Sage Automotive Interiors. Sage Automotive Interiors develops innovative materials that are then used in car production, such as the materials made from plastic bottles.

The same company, in collaboration with the Technical University of Liberec (TUL), is also developing fabrics with special fibres that function as seat heaters and improve comfort, as well as special reflective threads.

In the future, the brand wants to boost its investment in recyclable materials, in accordance with its suppliers. Skoda's raw material procurement processes will place even more emphasis on the circular economy.

Many manufacturers are slowly but surely starting to incorporate recycled materials into their interiors.

One example is Jaguar Land Rover, which has announced that it will integrate elements created with 100% recycled Econyl nylon – essentially made from waste recovered from landfills or the sea like fishing nets – into the interiors of its upcoming models.

This will include floor mats and upholstery elements. The same manufacturer already offers eucalyptus fibre upholstery on its Range Rover Evoque. – AFP