When polyester was first produced 70 years ago, people didn’t give much thought to sustainability. Garments were taken care of much differently, since washing machines were not popular, and everyone repaired their clothes when needed. Converting plastic bottles or old clothing into new clothing wasn’t feasible and would seem like a foreign concept to most.
So much has changed since Unifi began operating 50 years ago. We’ve seen the impact that climate change has on the environment and how actionable steps need to be taken to reduce our carbon footprint.
Today’s younger generations, particularly those that fall into the Millennial and Gen Z categories, are more concerned about environmentalism and sustainability. They’re seeing the impact that fast fashion has on our planet—that it’s not inherently kind to the environment—and are changing their shopping habits. We have to do better and incorporate ways to be more ecofriendly into everyday life. This is where Unifi comes in.
Who is Unifi?
Unifi is a global textile solutions provider and one of the world’s leading innovators in manufacturing and synthetic and recycled performance fibers. We envision a world where fibers solve many of life’s everyday challenges and where recycled products with high performance properties have become the norm. Through REPREVE®, one of Unifi’s proprietary technologies and the global leader in branded recycled performance fibers, Unifi has transformed more than 25 billion plastic bottles into recycled fiber for new apparel, footwear, home goods, and other consumer products. Unifi continually innovates performance technologies to meet consumer needs in moisture management, thermal regulation, antimicrobial, UV protection, stretch, water resistance and enhanced softness.
How has Unifi changed?
Over the last 50 years, Unifi has continually evolved its sustainability strategies. In 1979 and 1980, the company recognized that its process of inspecting fiber needed to change. Previously, employees tested the fiber by looking at it and feeling it to see if it met industry standards. Not only was this method subjective, but it also caused two times the amount of wasted fiber. By 1981, automatic inspecting became a reality through a machine with a storage feeder, eliminating the previous wasteful inspection process.
In the mid-2000s, Unifi started taking an even harder look at sustainability, with the goal of reducing the amount of waste it sent to landfills. This effort led the company to want to start recycling its own yarn waste. At the same time, consumer interest in products made from recycled content began to rise.
After finding a way to recycle its own waste, Unifi took things a step further. In 2007, the company created REPREVE, one of the world’s leading recycled performance fiber brands. The high-quality fibers are made from 100% recycled materials, including post-consumer plastic bottles and pre-consumer waste. Unifi sources, manufactures, and sells innovative REPREVE performance fiber in every major textile-producing region in the world. In addition, the company was the first to create yarn that replicates the performance of virgin materials.
In 2019, Unifi expanded its REPREVE portfolio to include REPREVE Our Ocean®, a sustainable product that enables customers and consumers to play a role in solving the ever-growing problem of ocean plastic. REPREVE Our Ocean is made with plastics collected within 50 km of waterways or coastal areas in developing countries or regions, effectively reducing waste in these areas and giving ocean-bound plastic bottles a second life.
Here we grow again
When REPREVE was born, two brands, Patagonia and Polartec, were the first to start using it. Today, morethan 800 brands and retailers incorporate and use REPREVE and REPREVE Our Ocean recycled fibers in their products, enabling them to tell their sustainable story.
In addition, Unifi just hit a major recycling milestone, recycling and transforming 25 billion bottles into REPREVE. Unifi’s next goal is to recycle 30 billion bottles by 2022, and the company is well on its way to reaching that target.
Unifi’s desire to be good stewards of the environment doesn’t stop at bottles. Creating REPREVE recycled fiber helps to offset the use of petroleum, thereby emitting fewer greenhouse gases and conserving water and energy in the process. The company also takes reclaimed water from bottle processing and uses it in other manufacturing applications.
The need for change
According to Business Insider, people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000, but only kept clothes for half as long. Americans discard 81 lbs. of clothing each year, with only 15% of that being donated or recycled.
In addition, every hour Americans throw away 2.5M plastic bottles. The U.S. recycling rate for plastic bottles is less than 30%, while Europe is around 50% and Japan is nearly 85%! REPREVE wants to help improve the U.S. recycling rate and help brands and retailers meet their sustainability goals as they transition their lines to recycled fiber.
From a consumer perspective, keeping items longer and donating or recycling garments to give them a second life are the next steps. Brands should design with a second life in mind, beginning with the use of sustainable fibers in their designs, and encouraging consumers to donate, repair, reuse or seek out other textile take back solutions. Unifi manages textile take back programs for some of its customers and continues to seek ways to expand the program as a reflection of its commitment to the circular economy. In a linear economy, resources are depleted, and products are produced and used until they are discarded as waste. This traditional take-make-dispose economy wastes large amounts of materials, energy and labor.
In a circular economy, products are made of reused components, and after a product is discarded, the materials and parts are reused, repaired or recycled. The circular economy focuses on value retention, and eliminates waste throughout the life cycles and uses of products. By moving to a circular economy, we can preserve resources for future generations and protect the environment from the side effects of wasteful manufacturing and disposing of goods.
It starts with you
One of the easiest ways to be sustainable starts with you—by recycling! When you throw your bottle into a recycling container, know that it could be turned into everything from your favorite hat to a pair of pants. Then, start looking at what brands are promoting sustainability—either through their production processes and/or sustainable products that are made with REPREVE. REPREVE is more than an innovative, recycled performance fiber; it is the thread that connects brands to more sustainable solutions.
Moving forward and looking ahead
Although Unifi has changed immensely in its first 50 years, much work lies ahead, including developing even more circular economy solutions and growing those that already exist.
Integrating sustainability into everyday business has become an expectation worldwide. Not only are consumers looking for sustainable products on the shelf, but they also expect companies to do the right thing.
Being a sustainable company means being here for the long term, helping to protect and restore the
earth’s natural systems and resources. Sustainability is how we meet our social, environmental, and
financial responsibilities, it’s how we innovate for customers, how we manage our supply chain, care for
our employees, govern our business, and more.
