TITLE:
Seam Slippage Characteristics of Woven Upholstery Fabrics Incorporating Recycled Polypropylene
AUTHORS:
Bestem Esi
KEYWORDS:
Recycled Polypropylene Yarn, Seam Slippage, Upholstery Fabric, Recycling, Sustainability
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Textile Science and Technology,
Vol.12 No.4,
November
10,
2026
ABSTRACT: Growing concerns regarding the environmental impacts of textile production have increased interest in recycled raw materials and more sustainable manufacturing practices. Within this context, recycled fibers offer important opportunities for conserving resources, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting circularity in the textile industry. This study investigates the seam slippage behavior of woven upholstery fabrics produced with filament weft yarns containing different proportions of recycled polypropylene (r-PP) and virgin polypropylene (v-PP). In this study, r-PP and v-PP granules were blended at different ratios and converted into filament yarns using the melt-spinning method. The resulting yarns were incorporated into woven upholstery fabrics as weft yarns, after which the fabrics were evaluated for seam slippage performance. The effects of recycled polypropylene content and fabric construction, defined by the combined weft yarn fineness and density settings, were examined statistically. The findings showed that seam slippage differed between the investigated fabric constructions. A significant interaction between blend ratio and fabric construction was detected for weft seam opening. Within the 1050 denier/7 picks/cm construction, fabrics containing 20% r-PP exhibited significantly greater weft seam opening than virgin PP fabrics. No statistically significant difference between 10% and 20% r-PP was detected for warp slippage in the 700 denier/14 picks/cm fabrics. These results suggest that the use of recycled polypropylene in upholstery fabric weft yarns is conditional on appropriate fabric construction and verification against application-specific seam performance requirements.