DID YOU KNOW? A significant portion of the petrochemical industry’s profit model relies on producing new (virgin) plastic bottles and polyester fibers, both of which are made primarily from fossil fuels—especially ethylene, propylene, and paraxylene, key components derived from crude oil and natural gas.

Driving an EV? Big Oil Hopes You Don’t Cut Down on Plastic Too The oil-and-gas industry needs plastic production to rise to offset a decline in demand for transport fuel. 

Plastic Is Everywhere. Now Big Oil Companies Are Producing Even More of It. With gasoline’s days numbered, oil companies are sending huge amounts of their production to chemical plants for plastic. Today’s oil executives share a tough reality: presiding over the peak and the decline of the gasoline age, a century-long growth period that brought in trillions of dollars in revenue. Gasoline isn’t going away, but it won’t be the sales driver it once was. So, oil companies are pivoting to the one end market for fossil fuels whose peak is decades away—chemicals.

Tu Tiki insists we recycle the petrochemical products the oil companies have already created, the petrochemical products that have been allowed to float in our oceans and wash onto our shores by the billions.  

Tu Tiki tights are made from the irresponsible overproduction of single-use products. 

Each pair of Tu Tiki tights removes 20 single-use plastic bottles from the environment and decreases the need for new petrochemical production of the polyesters used for high performance athletic wear.  

STOP buying products that profit the petrochemical companies.

START championing brands that clean up after them.

Currently only five states, ME, OR, CO, CA, MN have Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation which requires petrochemical producers to contribute to end-of-life costs.

               

As energy markets shift toward renewables (YAY!), plastics like those used to make single-use bottles and polyester fibers are becoming cornerstones of the petrochemical profit model. 

Unless we insist that current plastic pollution be used as source material, new plastics will continue the unnecessary drive for fossil fuel–derived materials. 

New PET makes a mess of our mountains and marine environments! 

Insist on rPET!  No new PET! 

            

The demand for fossil fuels for energy (gasoline, diesel) is projected to decline, BUT ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Saudi Aramco are doubling down on new plastic production to replace the lost profits.  Indeed the tide was turning five years ago; in 2020, ExxonMobil’s petro-chemical division was the only segment of their industry to generate profit, $2.0 billion.  

Tu Tiki is a solution to the continued production of:

1. New Single-Use Plastic Bottles

Primary Material: PET (polyethylene terephthalate), derived from paraxylene (from crude oil).

Global Use: Over 500 billion plastic bottles are produced annually.

Profit Driver: These are high-volume, low-cost items. Despite low margins per unit, the sheer scale of production makes them highly profitable.

Lifecycle: Designed for disposability, ensuring continuous demand.

2. New Polyester Fibers

Primary Material: PET (polyethylene terephthalate), derived from paraxylene (from crude oil).

Market Share: Polyester accounts for over 50% of global fiber production.

Fast Fashion Fuel: Polyester’s low cost and versatility make it essential to fast fashion, which is a key driver of demand for new PET. NO new PET!

Insist on rPET!