Polartec, Unifi Announce Partnership to Increase Use of Recycled Plastics

Polartec to expand production of recycled-content product line.

Polartec LLC, Lawrence, Mass., and Unifi Inc., Greensboro, N.C., have created a partnership that is introducing fabrics made with Repreve 100, a fabric made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic.

Work between the two companies has allowed Polartec’s recycled product line to grow from less than 1 percent of the company’s total production to more than 30 percent in the past four years. The introduction of Repreve 100 will enable Polartec to shift much more production to recycled content by next year, according to the company. 
Andy Vecchione, president of Polartec, states, "Unifi has been an excellent partner in our quest to deliver high-performance, recycled-content fabrics while reducing our overall footprint throughout the supply chain. The goal has always been to use as much post consumer content as possible.”
Vecchione says he expects Repreve 100-based Polartec fabrics to enter the consumer market in the spring of 2011.