As consumers, we've been wearing plastic for decades in the form of polyester yarns.
April 22, 2023 is Earth Day.
Polyester, the material used in most clothing made from non-natural fibers, is a type of plastic. Sustainability efforts with our apparel partners are turning plastic bottles into better solutions.
“Today, 69% of all clothes are already made up of synthetic fibers, with polyester making up 64% of all fiber production,” says the article Recycled Plastics are Transforming the Clothing Industry. “According to a 2020 report by Textile Exchange, only 14% of all polyester production comes from recycled inputs—predominantly used plastic bottles.
Storm Creek, one our women owner partners, is partner of our growing list of purpose driven partnerships seeking to reuse plastic for good.
According to EarthDay.org, “Americans purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year.” That’s 50,000,000,000. The vast majority of these will end up in landfills somewhere. We want to help change that. By doing our part, we have kept 24 million water bottles from becoming waste.
What type of plastic is used to create fabric? PET, which stands for polyethylene terephthalate, the plastic labeled #1. It’s used for single-use bottles that contain things like water, soft drinks, fruit juices, salad dressings, peanut butter and other foods. PET plastic is easy to chop into chips, clean and melt the chips into beads that can be worked into spun yarn. It’s a very manageable process.
Our partner at Storm Creek has been making eco-clothing since 2020- the
Activator Polo, shown here, uses the equivalent of 13 recycled bottles.
Is recycled clothing safe to wear? Yes, our partners make sure it's non-toxic, adhere to transparency regarding chemicals in production and packaging, as well as adhering to certifications and compliance in the textile industry.
Check out the 2023 new trends here.
What else has this partner been doing?
1% of sales annually to 1% For The Planet
$31,137.60 raised to support 14 non-profits
150,000 Meals Donated to Feeding America during 2020
$25,640 in product donations in 2020 for clothing to keep those in need warm