Chinese company Sunfiber in South Carolina finds sustainable business opportunities in plastic recycling

Plastic waste pollution, which could take hundreds years to decompose, is one of the most ubiquitous environmental issues. While many countries face little success in combating plastic waste, a Chinese businesswoman and her factory in South Carolina have found sustainable business opportunities in plastic recycling. In the 10 years of exploring, the company has become the leading manufacturer to promote sustainability of humankind and found its own path for a win-win cooperation between China and the U.S.

Around 10 years ago, a fiber factory in China developed leading technologies to use recycled PET bottle flakes to produce polyester staple fibers for filling in-home products such as pillows. However, the owner realized that she couldn’t open a big market in China, where people commonly use organic fillings such as dried grains, tea leaves, and cotton for pillows. In 2013, she decided to build Sun Fiber in South Carolina to explore the market in America. Now, Sun Fiber can produce over 160 million lbs of recycled staple fiber products every year and have created over 200 jobs in the U.S..

Sun Ya, the owner of Sun Fiber, said the company was able to make a profit in the U.S. not only because of low energy cost but also Americans’ high willingness to buy environmentally friendly home products. The ability to make money is the key factor for the company to keep exploring new technologies to promote plastic recycling for humankind and creating new jobs for Americans. In South Carolina, foreign companies play a vital role in its economy and China is the third-largest foreign investment provider after Germany and Canada.