365 Ways to Save the Planet

Day 198 – I first mentioned REPREVE back on Day 24, when I wrote about purchasing a new couch from Love Sac. The upholstery fabric is made from 100% REPREVE certified recycled yarns.

Unifi makes REPREVE and this is how they do it:

1. Source Recycled Waste: Recycled plastic bottles and post-industrial waste (including our own) are collected worldwide.
2. Make the Chip: Waste material is chopped, ground, washed, melted and reformulated into high-quality REPREVE chip.
3. Form the Fiber: Chip is melted into liquid polymer and extruded through tiny openings in a spinneret, creating continuous filaments that form REPREVE fiber.
4. Process the Yarn: Fiber becomes yarn through spinning and air-jet texturing.
5. Ship to Customers: Finished yarn goes into fabrics, making everyday products more sustainable.

Unifi created U TRUST® verification to certify the recycled content in products made with REPREVE. With their unique FiberPrint® tracer technology, they can test partner products at any point in the supply chain to verify that REPREVE is being used properly. They’re not just finding new life for recycled materials. Compared to making what’s called virgin fiber, making REPREVE offsets using new petroleum, emitting fewer greenhouse gases and conserving water and energy in the process.

Some of the brands you know and love use REPREVE to make products you use every day. If you see this bottle count badge when you shop, your purchase makes a difference. Look for it!

Many familiar brands are using REPREVE; Gap, The North Face, Under Armour, Aeropostale and Levi Strauss & Co., to name just a few. You can find a list of brands using REPREVE in their products, HERE.

Billions of plastic bottles go into landfills every year. Thankfully, companies like Unifi has come up with a solution to divert a great deal of plastic from landfills and waterways. However, it doesn’t stop there. We need to do our part to limit, if not, stop all together, the use of single-use plastic. REPREVE is not the answer to the plastic pollution problem, it is just a piece to the puzzle.

Tomorrow, plastic free makeup.