For the sixth year running, the Repreve Champions of Sustainability Awards recognize brands, retailers and textile mills that use sustainable fibers in their products. The global award recognizes the transformation of single-use plastic bottles into new consumer products that keep them out of landfill.
Repreve is made from recycled plastic bottles and features FiberPrint tracer technology, which is verified by U Trust certification. “With the traceable and authenticated contents of a bottle, each champion receives its own Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) data, showing the environmental impact of its products over their entire lifecycle, avoiding carbon emissions and water savings,” explains Repreve manufacturer Unifi in a press release.
The 2023 Repreve Champions of Sustainability Awards are presented to 33 brand and retail partners that have processed ten million or more recycled plastic bottles including Aeropostale, Boardriders, Buff, Gap Inc, Gildan, Haggar, Handes Brands, Ikea, Inditex, JC Penney, Jordache, Klopman, Kohl’s, Levi Strauss & Co, Lovesac, Marks & Spencer, Momentum Textiles, Piping Hot, PVH, Tapestry, Target, The North Face, TKO Evolution Apparel Inc., Under Armour, VF and Wolcom.
“We are very excited to honor our 2023 Repreve Champions of Sustainability,” said Unifi CEO Eddie Ingle. “At Unifi, we greatly value our exceptional partners who have demonstrated that sustainability is an integral part of their business practices. Together, we will continue to work with these companies to reduce negative environmental impacts and be good stewards of our planet and future, while inspiring our industry to do the same.”
The 59 textile partners that have processed 50 million or more recycled plastic bottles using Repreve Performance fibers include Aby Spinning Mills, Antex Knitting Mills, Cone Denim, Contempora Fabrics, Hamrick Mills, Milliken, Xintiansi Textile and YDTEX.
More than a billion bottles
There is also a special category for brands that have processed more than a billion bottles. These are Nike, Polartec, Target and Walmart, who automatically become members of the Repreve “Billion Bottle Club”.
“Partnerships are an essential element of innovation and the foundation on which Unifi is built,” said Jay Hertwig, Unifi’s senior vice president of global brand sales. “Our partnerships are mutually beneficial; we help brands and factories achieve their sustainability goals while helping us continue to be a catalyst for a more sustainable future by sustainably transforming their fiber choices.”
Other special category winners include Deckers Brands (Teva, Ugg) and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. for more than 100 million bottles converted, American Eagle for more than 25 million bottles converted in 2022 alone, and H&M for using Repreve Our Ocean -Fibers and yarns that have transformed more than 600 million plastic bottles.
To date, through Repreve, Unifi has turned more than 35 billion plastic bottles into recycled fibers for new apparel, footwear, home goods and other consumer products.