Repreve celebrates #TurnItGreen Week

The Detroit Lions and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) are joining with Greensboro, North Carolina-based Unifi Inc.’s  Repreve recycled fiber brand to kick off #TurnItGreen week, Dec. 1-7, 2014. The two sports events are steps Unifi is undertaking to raise recycling awareness.

 

The North Carolina Tar Heels’ men’s home basketball game Dec. 3 and the Detroit Lions home football game Dec. 7 will feature a number of ways Repreve is using to highlight the products that can be made when plastic bottles are properly recycled, according to Unifi. Repreve is made from recycled materials, including plastic bottles.

 

During the North Carolina game, the university will highlight recycling opportunities through various actions, including the addition of 50 Repreve-wrapped recycling bins at the Dean E. Smith Center basketball arena, changing the blue lighting at the top of the arena to green and targeting a 100 percent plastic bottle recycling rate, Unifi says.

 

Additionally, every attendee of the game will receive a Repreve-based t-shirt with a Carolina Blue NC on the front. Cheerleaders, band members and the Tar Heels mascot, also will “Turn It Green” by wearing Repreve gear. 

 

"Working with Repreve gives us the opportunity to show how green our students and fan base can be, and I’m confident they will rise to the challenge,” says Roy Williams, head men’s basketball coach at UNC. “Recycling really does make a significant impact, and we want everyone to take what they learn in the stands and put it into action, so that the entire campus community will recycle even more than we do currently."

 

Repreve also launched a #TurnItGreen contest offering fans a chance to win a prize that includes an autographed basketball from the entire 2014-15 UNC men’s basketball team, a poster autographed by Roy Williams and Repreve-based gear. Following the conclusion of the #TurnItGreen contest Dec. 1, there will be a campus-wide “Take the Smart Shot” recycling challenge that will lead into the 2015 UNC graduation ceremony, where graduating students will wear gowns made with Repreve, each using about 27 recycled plastic bottles, Unifi says.

Unifi also is working with the NFL’s Detroit Lions on another #TurnItGreen program. During the Lion’s Dec. 7 game, every fan will receive a Repreve-based #TurnItGreen rally towel, which have been made from recycled plastic bottles. 

 

The Lions began their joint recycling efforts with Repreve earlier this year by unveiling 500 recycling containers throughout Ford Field. During each home game this season, the Lions have provided fans with an update on the number of bottles recycled at Ford Field to date. As of Nov. 9, more than 37,000 bottles have been collected for recycling.

 

Repreve also will host a bottle throwing competition between Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and the winner of the “Make The Smart Throw” contest Dec. 6. The “Make The Smart Throw” challenge encourages fans and consumers to submit trick-shot videos of them throwing plastic bottles into recycling bins. The winner also will receive tickets to the #TurnItGreen game Dec. 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

 

“Recycling is critical, yet 70 percent of plastic bottles in the U.S. do not get recycled, ending up in parks, landfills or the ocean,” says the Lions’ Stafford. “In football, you have to give 100 percent day in and day out, and the same is true for recycling and taking care of the planet. It’s time for us to step up our game and make the smart throw by tossing our used plastic bottles into recycling bins.” 

 

Since 2009, Repreve has recycled more than 2 billion plastic bottles into products from companies such as The North Face, Patagonia, Ford and Haggar, Unifi says.

 

More information about Repreve and the #TurnItGreen initiative is available at www.repreve.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/repreve.