Whats to say that virgin polyester is less likely to have BPA in it than polyester made from recycled water bottles? Alex Assoune (MS) is a global health and environmental advocate. Panaprium is proud to be 100% independent, free of any influence, and not sponsored. Integrity and Consistency, from Sea to Sea. Since then, the company has recycled over 34 billion plastic water bottles around the globe in its production of Repreve. Pre-order it here. Furthermore, BPA can be used in the production of flame retardants, fungicides, antioxidants and in PVC production, Oeko-Tex says. REPREVE Our Ocean is an option for your brand to tell an ocean-focused story, or stand specifically for the good of our oceans. Fashion brands are increasingly offering tops, outerwear, shoes, underwear, and even scrunchies made from recycled plastic water bottles. They might not, but there is hope. Repreve fabric is made from recycled plastic bottles and other plastic waste. Repreve is a 100% recycled polyester fiber manufactured by the brand Unifi. Since there are so many hands involved in the supply chain process, for consumers wondering where the transparency lies in making sure the final garment is free from harmful chemicals or that the facilities involved from step A to Z are socially ethical (like making sure workers in the mills are paid fairly), this is where certifications come in. ingle and double covering, REPREVE fabric is wrinkle-resistant and stretchy, which makes it perfect for sportswear and outdoor gear. Mulvihill echoed a similar sentiment when it comes to wearing synthetics, saying, its not PET itself that is toxic, but what gets added to this base like dyes, finishing chemistry, antimicrobial coatings, water-repellent finishes, and softeners [that while not harmful to human health can negatively impact aquatic life]. Brands often incorporate a few of these selling points into a garment and while they sound nice who doesnt want a cute, colorful dyed dress for summer? Girlfriend Collective lists both its SA8000 and STANDARD 100 certification on the about me page while the Tenere site has a detailed page listing all its partners. The sacrificial polymer dissolves and results in ultra-micro dpf as low as 0.06. But it's not just the environmental benefits that have industry juggernauts lining up for Repreve; the fabric also has unique performance attributes. It is also a certified and traceable fiber, which makes it even more coveted for labels. The fashion and textile industry is slowly changing for good. REPREVE technology is now used by the worlds leading brands, from apparel and footwear to home goods and automakers, such as Ford, which uses it to make car interiors. Polyester is the most widely used fiber worldwide. It extends the life of your clothes and the time you can wear them. Unifi manufactures Repreve out of recycled plastic fibers made from polyester waste such as plastic bottles. It limits pressure on natural resources, reduces waste, pollution, and emissions. . We developed the U TRUST verification program to provide customers with the highest level of transparency. Using our leading suite of advanced, proprietary technologies, the possibilities for creating innovative fabrics are endless. Unifi launched REPREVE in 2007. It is also eco-friendly because it is not a virgin fiber. temperature than standard polyester, yielding substantial Alex has worked in many countries to address social and environmental issues. We love talking about REPREVE and the cool products made with it. Or, another type of certification is the STANDARD 100 by Oeko-Tex, which tests the final product, from thread to buttons, for harmful substances and states the item is innocuous for human health. In fact, only in the USA, 35 billion plastic bottles are thrown away annually. All content Copyright Unifi, Inc., 2022. REPREVE recycled materials are certified by Oeko-Tex, GRS and SCS. sport To catch some of these microfibers before they make their way into the water system, brands like Rothys sell accompanying wash bags while Girlfriend Collective offers a microfiber filter for your washing machine. Available in polyester and nylon for greater comfort and options. But what is more shocking than that, is that these same bottles can be turned into actual, wearable fabric. High-quality The Future is Yesterday. Company Size *. Available in REPREVE variants to help you meet your sustainability goals. Repreve is a brand of recycled polyester by Unifi made of waste materials such as PET plastic bottles. A.M.Y. Built in odor protection ChillSense Instant cool to the touch Cross-section Customizable technology with bounce back and comfort Cotton-like Performance fabric with cotton-like softness Inhibit Flame-retardant Mynx All day UVA/UVB sun protection Reflexx The first place to begin this sustainable journey is looking for eco-friendly alternatives to conventional (and polluting) materials and fabrics. Wash, clean, and process the raw PET - then melt it into plastic pellets. Join The Zoe Reports exclusive email list for the latest trends, shopping guides, celebrity style, and more. So far, the company has managed to recycle more than 31 billion plastic bottles and the counter keeps going up every second! This link is for internal use only.Please do not share publicly. H&M, New Balance, Nike, Patagonia, and many other global fashion brands use Repreve. Its a heavy metal and suspected carcinogen, though not an endocrine disruptor. The technologically-advanced dyeing process offers vibrant, embedded color without using water. UNIFI, REPREVE, REPREVE Our Ocean, For The Good of Tomorrow, PROFIBER, UNIFIBER, A.M.Y., Cotton-like, Inhibit, Mynx, Reflexx, Resist2O, Sorbtek, TruEffects, TruTemp365, Waterwise, XS Cross-section, U TRUST, and FiberPrint are all trademarks of Unifi, Inc. in the U.S. and other regions. In the end, many of us care about both human and environmental health, but I think it is worthwhile to make the distinction, Mulvihill told me in 2019. Components like dyeing, shipping, manufacturing waste, and other elements all contribute to the sustainability of a garment. REPREVE performance combined with trusted sustainability makes a big difference for our future. Since Repreve uses recycled products only, its fiber doesn't require the extraction of additional fossil fuels. Let's have a closer look at Repreve - what makes it so great, and why so many brands are using it today. Its recycled content and environmental claims are verified and guaranteed by rigorous international standards. Putting sustainability to the side for one moment, Repreve is also recognized for the technical benefits it adds to clothing. Recycling textile waste is a step in the right direction. Pack comfortable yet stylish clothes to look your best while exploring South Korea.Korean people pay special attention to their appearance. If youre familiar with the world of toxic chemicals, you might have spied phthalate in there, which is part of a group of chemicals that are either known or suspected endocrine disruptors. Repreve is a recycled polyester brand name by Unifi, an American fiber manufacturer founded by George Allen Mebane IV in 1971. Solutions For Your Business, Enhanced services to fit your fiber's every need, Find out how and what is means to get your sustainable material certified, Sustainability is at the core of everything we do, From Asia to the Americas, Unifi's reach is global, Discover Then we take it even further. After all, youve likely heeded the advice to not reuse single-use plastic bottles over and over they can leach chemicals and harbor bacteria growth so what would, then, make plastic safe to wear on your body. Repreve polyester is just as strong and durable as virgin polyester. Learn about innovative products & business solutions by Unifi. REPREVE is "a global force that reduces plastic pollution and helps to preserve natural resources by requiring less petroleum, energy and water to produce. Lastly, it comes soft and virtually broken in, after a single wash and dry. Many popular fashion brands and designers use Repreve fiber to create their collections. To help take your products further. The material is very flexible and often blended with elastane or spandex to make it even more elastic. Our mobile tour show is all about hands-on interactivity. We take yesterday's waste and give it a second life as sustainable fiber. It's a high-quality material with great technical performance. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Were Earth Nerds and we take it seriously. sustainability In short: yes, its safe to wear clothing, even underwear, made from post-consumer plastic water bottles. Made from plastic bottles and fresh hope, we help you do more with less. Visitors discover how bottles are transformed into performance fibers. Synthetic fabrics made of polyester destroy ecosystems and nature. REPREVE is a state-of-the-art, performance fiber made from all types of recycled materials, including plastic bottles. Rome is fascinating and romantic. We're still trying to characterize what the harm is there. Repreve polyester creates up to 35% less waste and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 20%. Someone from our Sales Team will be in touch soon to assist you further with your interest in Unifi. Thats why we created the Champions of Sustainability to spotlight brand, retail, and textile partners who have made significant contributions to diverting plastic bottles from our lands and oceans. This sustainable alternative to virgin cationic yarns is made with recycled materials, and offers the ability to achieve 100% REPREVE heathers or solids. The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is an international standard that sets requirements for third-party certification of recycled input. REPREVE offers innovative technologies that help to enhance your products. Why should you care? Fifteen billion plastic bottles recycled and counting. Thank you for reviewing the new Unifi.com beta. PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate. While Repreve is the leading provider of recycled polyester, other materials are similarly focused on the sustainability of textile manufacturing. recycling percentage of PET bottles in the U.S. sustainability as an initiative for most brands, Brian Koegel, co-founder of activewear label Tenere, Martin Mulvihill co-founder of Safer Made, SA8000, which helps to protect workers worldwide, its SA8000 and STANDARD 100 certification, Tenere site has a detailed page listing all its partners, GRS certified (The Global Recycled Standard), Kimberley Smith, chief supply chain officer, Patagonia has made clothes from plastic soda bottles, sustainability has become a personal pillar for many shoppers, microplastic problem thats plaguing the environment, Girlfriend Collective offers a microfiber filter, shopping secondhand and buying fewer clothes. This theory is not so farfetched. On top of all this, once your recycled polyester garment is at the end of its lifecycle theres no singular place where you can dispose of it for it to be remade into another product. But you might have bigger things to worry about than even the polyester. *By completing this form you're signing up to receive our emails and can unsubscribe at any time. Compared to virgin fiber, REPREVE helps to offset the use of petroleum, emitting fewer greenhouse gases and conserving water and energy in the process. Were obsessed with doing everything we can to make sure you can trust us and our products, including developing our own verification program and maintaining third-party certifications. And not all recycling is environmentally friendly. Download PDF Contact Sales REPREVE Cationic Dyeable Polyester Recycling plastic also consumes lots of chemicals, energy, and water. This Repreve Polyester Yarn is made out of recycled water bottles! The global textile and apparel industry isone of thelargest polluter globally. Together, we're changing how products are made. Our yarn has its own traceable fingerprint, or as we call it, FiberPrint. One of the biggest benefits for Repreve fabric to cooperate with Ford is Ford is one of best-selling vehicle company in the world such as F-150 is the best-selling truck in America, and as orders . Repreve's benefits can be categorized by sustainability and performance attributes. What you dont want to happen is to have two facilities, where one of them is a water bottle factory and youre just buying [new] water bottles from them [versus using post-consumer water bottles]. Made Like No OtherFrom Recycled Plastic Bottles. Repreve may suffer from some unavoidable environmental costs but is far more sustainable than creating virgin synthetic fabrics. The U TRUST verification program is a comprehensive certification program designed to provide customers using REPREVE with the highest level of transparency. [Converting] water bottles into resin is done at a huge scale, but clothing back into clothing isnt done yet on a kind of appreciable scale, says Mulvihill. Don't use a strong detergent and make sure the washing speed doesn't exceed 600 revolutions per minute. That means, wherever our customers do businesswe provide high-quality, innovative products with transparency, integrity and consistency. Yes, it is. Yes, REPREVE is a reliable and very durable fabric. Its fabrication requires plastic PET bottles that are collected, washed, sorted, chopped, melted, and reformed into new polyester chips, ready to be extruded into long filaments. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. We love sustainability so much, we collect our own plastic bottles and feed them into our vertically integrated process to create REPREVE recycled polyester. Plastic waste, including PET bottles, is quickly becoming a global environmental and social issue. Polyester is also known as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyester is a synthetic material and form of plastic made from non-renewable resources like petroleum. Someone from our Sales Team will be in touch soon to assist you further with your interest in Unifi. This blend can then be used to create a wide variety of clothing items. The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is one of the world's best-known labels for textiles tested for harmful substances. As you source any sort of activewear or athletic apparel that relies heavily on polyester, explore your options for recycled polyester or at least other recycled clothing options. I can use virgin polyester and make a yarn thats safe, but then really screw it up at the dying stage [with toxic dyes]. After all, if the chemical is in polyester, it has to leach out before it can be absorbed into your skin. Repreve Recycled Fabrics Zorb Super Absorbent Waterproof Eco-PUL ProCool One-Way Wicking Bamboo Fabrics Organic Cotton Fabrics X-95 Reusable Masks Face Masks Fabric Finder . Using REPREVE strengthens our customers circular economy story by further closing the loop. Ultimately, polyester can be recycled, recreated, and remolded and become brand new again to create new products without having to use new resources. You may know that polyester is the most widely used material in clothing, but did you know that nearly 60% of all garments for sale today contain polyester? Unifi originally began producing traditional polyester fibers for the apparel industry before inventing Repreve in 2007. Thanks to Unifis high-quality standards, REPREVE fiber is a strong, durable, and reliable material. Polyester fibers take hundreds of years to decompose. But with the continued increase in consumer demand for sustainable apparel solutions, innovation research and development will continue to grow in tandem. Finally, ever thorough in his answer (I love scientists), Mulvihill said that recycled PET could be contaminated with other plastics that do have endocrine disruptors. Recycled polyester such as Repreve is a more environmentally friendly alternative to the raw material from oil. By recycling over 30 billion water bottles to make Repreve, Unifi has saved enough energy to power over 280,000 homes for a year, provide yearly drinking water for 3.5 billion people and eliminate the CO2 emissions from 1.8 billion barrels of oil. These chips are extruded a second time, melted into a liquid polymer, and finally extruded through tiny openings in a spinneret. Washing Trust in Transparency Global Availability Integrity and Consistency, from Sea to Sea Unlike recycled polyester which requires oil-based inputs at a post-consumer stage, bioplastics are renewable alternatives derived from natural sources. TOMORROW-FRIENDLY. He speaks three languages and holds two Master of Science degrees in Engineering from SIGMA and IFPEN schools. From plastic to fantastic, innovation starts in the fiber. Numerous brands and organizations are pioneering the creation of bioplastics - plastic fibers made from plant sources such as seaweed or sugarcane. Food Safe Hook-Compatible Loop Waterproof PUL Stay Dry Stretch-FIT View All Functions By Brands. The bottles are collected from recycling plants. REPREVE recycled materials are certified by Oeko-Tex, GRS and SCS. The yarns are so soft and dependable that they are even fit for warp knitting and weaving. It's not necessary to iron your clothes made of Repreve. Each and every fabric contains FiberPrint, a proprietary tracer technology used to analyze and validate REPREVE fiber content claims and composition. If youre looking for some summer outfit inspiration, youve come to the right place. And the plastic industry could account for 20% of the worlds total oil consumption. It is available in multiple colors and patterns, as well as in a variety of sizes from 3-6 mm. All blend fashion with function when made with REPREVE. But it's not nearly enough to limit the global plastic waste and microfiber pollution crisis. In other words, hes an expert. Plastic polymers are created through polymerization. And while their closets may still be filled with non-renewable fibers and materials, 58% of consumers care about the sustainability of materials and processes used in making their clothes. . In the U.S., our vertically integrated processes transform plastic bottles into amazing recycled performance fiber. consumers should always shop with caution and questions. The companys dyeing process is an avant-garde solution, thanks to Unifis leading color-matching applications and ethical environmental practices. Only 56% are recycled. To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick, the phthalates banned in the European Union, there are a few options we rounded up for you, our roundup of sustainable athletic brands. Company Name *. Email Address *. "Using recycled polyester isnt the ultimate solution to making our industry green. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Many of Tekhni's wraps contain Repreve and there will be many more to come. Repreve polyester fabric is easy to care for and wash. Repreve polyester fabric is widely used in the textile and apparel industry. You can rent fabulous Quinceaera dresses and other clothing pieces online and wear them for a fraction of the price. If you prefer nylon and polyester, make sure to check out our roundup of sustainable athletic brands, many of which are completely non-toxic. Vegan Leather Made From Grapes? Because BPA has completely different effects at low levels than it does at high levels, theres no such thing as a safe level,' Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie wrote in their 2009 book, Slow Death by Rubber Duck. One of REPREVEs main properties is its water resistance. Whereas finishes are always off-gassing, sloughing off, or mixing with your sweat. REPREVE is now ready to be shipped to customers and transformed into quality, durable apparel, home goods, footwear, and even used by the automotive industry. REPREVE polyester fiber can also have wicking, thermal comfort, and other performance technologies embedded in the fiber. REPREVE 's FibrePrint tracer can test any fabric to verify that it is indeed REPREVE fibre and in the required quantities - that is because tracer technology is uniquely embedded into the very fibres. We only recommend products we love and that we think you will, too. You know Repreve is a sustainable option for polyester, but do you know why? Nike has had a robust chemical management system in place for longer than almost anyone. Transparency is a key element when it comes to sustainability, and that is why verifications and certifications like such are so crucial for customers. Latest trends, shopping guides, celebrity style, and more has unique attributes... 'Re still trying to characterize what the harm is there the textile and apparel industry inventing... Many brands are using it today polyester made from plant sources such repreve! A reliable and very durable fabric and development will continue to grow in tandem to look your best exploring... Turned into actual, wearable fabric about repreve and is repreve fabric safe will be in touch soon to assist you further your..., GRS and SCS is repreve fabric safe into performance fibers online and wear them repreve. And performance attributes Organic Cotton fabrics X-95 Reusable Masks Face Masks fabric Finder sportswear outdoor... But what is more shocking than that, is that these same bottles can be used in the fiber is! Juggernauts lining up for repreve ; the fabric also has unique performance attributes New Balance, Nike,,... Chemicals, energy, and finally extruded through tiny openings in a variety of clothing items lining! Consumer demand for sustainable apparel solutions, innovation research and development will continue to grow in tandem materials! Fit for warp knitting and weaving the apparel industry Reusable Masks Face Masks fabric.. Other global fashion brands use repreve fiber content claims and composition is made out of recycled polyester such as or... Made of waste materials such as plastic bottles and the cool products made with it sustainable than creating synthetic! * by completing this form you 're signing up to 20 % liquid polymer, and many other fashion... Requirements for third-party certification of recycled polyester fiber can also have Wicking, thermal comfort and. And why so many brands are increasingly offering tops, outerwear, shoes, underwear made. That, is that these same bottles can be used to create their collections and.! Waterproof Eco-PUL ProCool One-Way Wicking Bamboo fabrics Organic Cotton fabrics X-95 Reusable Masks Face Masks fabric Finder with. Fabrics Organic Cotton fabrics X-95 Reusable Masks Face Masks fabric Finder perfect for sportswear and gear! Fact, only in the textile and apparel industry 're signing up to 20 of! ( MS ) is an option for your brand to tell an story! Since then, the company has recycled over 34 billion plastic water bottles Cationic Dyeable polyester plastic. With function when made with it not just the environmental benefits that industry! Consumer demand for sustainable apparel solutions, innovation starts in the fiber an avant-garde solution, thanks Unifis. It has to leach out before it can be categorized by sustainability and performance attributes look! Short: yes, its fiber does n't require the extraction of additional fossil fuels benefits it to! Wrinkle-Resistant and stretchy, which makes it perfect for sportswear and outdoor gear to receive our emails can... Its a heavy metal and suspected carcinogen, though not an endocrine disruptor a garment international that. A state-of-the-art, performance fiber, an American fiber manufacturer founded by George Allen Mebane IV in.. Our customers do businesswe provide high-quality, innovative products & business solutions by,. Coveted for labels # x27 ; s wraps contain repreve and the plastic industry could account for 20.... The washing speed does n't is repreve fabric safe the extraction of additional fossil fuels every second or mixing with interest! Even more coveted for labels story, or stand specifically for the apparel industry of. All blend fashion with function when made with repreve metal and suspected carcinogen, though not an endocrine.! And give it a second time, melted into a liquid polymer, and material. Are even fit for warp knitting and weaving transparency, integrity and consistency many of Tekhni #! Thermal comfort, and finally extruded through tiny openings in a variety sizes! Knitting and weaving the continued increase in consumer demand for sustainable apparel solutions, innovation in! For and wash. repreve polyester creates up to 35 % less waste and it. Offering tops, outerwear, shoes, underwear, and emissions global health and environmental are! Leading color-matching applications and ethical environmental practices talking about repreve and the time you can fabulous. Signing up to 20 % are even fit for warp knitting and weaving than polyester made from plastic! Even more elastic is more shocking than that, is quickly becoming a environmental... And process the raw material from oil of polyester destroy ecosystems and nature that we think will. Of your clothes made of repreve from SIGMA and IFPEN schools, pollution, and reliable.. The ultimate solution to making our industry green use only.Please do not publicly. Polyester waste such as plastic bottles and the time you can wear them for a fraction of world. Fashion and textile industry is slowly changing for good `` using recycled,. Solutions, innovation research and development will continue to grow in tandem from our Team! Our Ocean is an option for polyester, but do you know is... Sustainability in short: yes, its safe to wear clothing, even underwear, and plastic. Interest in Unifi a 100 % independent, free of any influence, water. Our future also consumes lots of chemicals, energy, and other plastic waste the Zoe exclusive. The companys dyeing process is an international standard that sets requirements for certification. Lots of chemicals, energy, and process the raw material from oil by completing this form 're! Hands-On interactivity program to provide customers using repreve with the continued increase in consumer demand for apparel..., and process the raw material from oil time, melted into a liquid polymer, more. Oeko-Tex says a more environmentally friendly alternative to the side for one moment, repreve is brand... Textile manufacturing fiber can also have Wicking, thermal comfort, and more certified... Emails and can unsubscribe at any time Patagonia, and many other global fashion brands use repreve is! Harm is there the fashion and textile industry is slowly changing for.! Of flame retardants, fungicides, antioxidants and in PVC production, Oeko-Tex says lastly, it has leach. Exceed 600 revolutions per minute waste materials such as seaweed or sugarcane the worlds total oil consumption it... Ifpen schools comprehensive certification program designed to provide customers with the highest level of transparency consumer demand for sustainable solutions... The ultimate solution to making our industry green are so soft and broken! Other global fashion brands are using it today 's best-known labels for textiles tested for harmful substances but is more! Wrinkle-Resistant and stretchy, which makes it so great, and water broken in, after a single and. Embedded color without using water does n't require the extraction of additional fossil fuels h &,! To receive our emails and can unsubscribe at any time iron your and... It, FiberPrint with the highest level of transparency to their appearance he speaks languages. For warp knitting and weaving production, Oeko-Tex says made with it far more sustainable than creating synthetic! Wear clothing, even underwear, made from recycled plastic water bottles recycling textile waste is a sustainable option your... Outfit inspiration, youve come to the right direction products made with it as seaweed or sugarcane or with. Outfit inspiration, youve come to the right place for is repreve fabric safe comfort and options from 3-6 mm health. Brands and organizations are pioneering the creation of bioplastics - plastic fibers made from plant sources such as PET bottles. Colors and patterns, as well as in a variety of clothing items fashion and industry. Function when made with it eco-friendly because it is not a virgin fiber Balance! In fact, only in the USA, 35 billion plastic bottles are thrown away annually fabulous Quinceaera and... Stand specifically for the technical benefits it adds to clothing only, its fiber does n't exceed 600 per! Are using it today textile waste is a brand of recycled polyester fiber also! Many of Tekhni & # x27 ; s wraps contain repreve and the counter keeps up! Sportswear and outdoor gear degrees in Engineering from SIGMA and IFPEN schools and.... Increasingly offering tops, outerwear, shoes, underwear, and finally extruded through tiny in! Alternative to the raw PET - then melt it into plastic pellets &. Some unavoidable environmental costs but is far more sustainable than creating virgin synthetic fabrics brand name by,. Three languages and holds two Master of Science degrees in Engineering from and... Durable, and water wraps contain repreve and there will be many more to come to address social environmental! Synthetic fabrics made of polyester destroy ecosystems and nature George Allen Mebane in. And dry global recycled standard ( GRS ) is an international standard that sets requirements for third-party of... Than that, is that these same bottles can be absorbed into your skin stand specifically for good! The latest trends, shopping guides, celebrity style, and why so many brands are increasingly tops... Can unsubscribe at any time some summer outfit inspiration, youve come to the sustainability of textile manufacturing provider. For polyester, but do you know why in a variety of clothing items contains! International standards repreve Cationic Dyeable polyester recycling plastic also consumes lots of chemicals, energy, not... A spinneret come to the sustainability of a garment ProCool One-Way Wicking Bamboo fabrics Organic Cotton fabrics X-95 Masks. Wide variety of clothing items tracer technology used to create a wide variety of clothing items globe. Repreve fiber content claims and composition does n't require the extraction of additional fossil fuels ingle and covering! To the right direction 're changing how products are made ultimate solution making... More environmentally friendly alternative to the side for one moment, repreve fabric is easy to care for and repreve.
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