Companies like Adidas, Ford Motor Company, H&M and Nike have got the inaugural Repreve Champions of Sustainability awards, announced by Unifi, to commemorate its recent milestone of recycling 10 billion bottles. These annual awards celebrate Unifi’s brand and textile partners that share its commitment to sustainability and vision for a better tomorrow.
“Unifi created the Repreve Champions of Sustainability awards to recognise our brand and textile partners that have achieved plastic bottle recycling milestones as a result of their use of Repreve performance fibres,” said Kevin Hall, Unifi chairman and CEO. “We are proud to honour companies that exemplify leadership in sustainability, and are among those that have contributed to the more than 10 billion bottles that Unifi has recycled so far. We look forward to recognising even more companies in the future as we work toward our goal of recycling 30 billion bottles by 2022.”
Repreve Champions of Sustainability will be awarded to 25 brand and retail partners that have each used the equivalent of 10 million or more bottles, and 15 textile partners that have each used the equivalent of 50 million or more bottles, through the use of Repreve fibre.
“More than 70 per cent of plastic bottles in the United States end up in a landfill,” Hall explained. “By creating these awards, we hope to inspire designers, customers and consumers to continue to invest in sustainability, and that together, we can make everyday life better by transforming recycled plastic bottles into the products consumers use every day.”
In addition to the bottle awards, Unifi is also introducing four special category awards:
Repreve Partners in Innovation recognises companies using Repreve in a way that’s unique to the market. Repreve Circular Economy recognises companies demonstrating best-in-class use of the closed loop concept, which aims to eliminate waste throughout the product life cycle. Repreve Newcomer recognises key companies that started using Repreve in the past year. Repreve All-In recognises companies that integrated Repreve into their entire product line from the beginning of the partnership.
To craft the awards, Unifi partnered with the Olio, a nonprofit organisation based in Winston-Salem, that focuses on teaching and empowerment through entrepreneurship, glassblowing, art and sustainable solutions. Each custom crafted award is blown by hand from glass recycled from local restaurants and bars, and sits on a base made from recycled aluminum and reclaimed wood.
Companies like Adidas, Ford Motor Company, H&M, Haggar Clothing Co, Hanesbrands, Haworth, JCPenney, Levi Strauss & Co, Lindex, Momentum Textiles, Nike, Perry Ellis International, Polartec, PVH and Quiksilver have been selected for Brand and Retailer Bottle Awards.
Textile Partner Bottle Awards have been given to companies like Billion Rise, Burlington, Darlington A Moore Company, duvaltex, Intradeco Apparel and MAS Fabrics.
