Walmart purchases equivalent of 1 billion bottles worth of recycled polyester

Unifi Inc., a recycled and synthetic yarns company based in Greensboro, North Carolina, has announced that Walmart has purchased the equivalent of 1 billion postconsumer plastic bottles worth of Repreve recycled performance fibers.

Walmart first purchased recycled polyethylene terephthalate products from Unifi in 2012. In 2019, Walmart announced a goal to source 50 percent recycled polyester fibers for its private brand textiles by 2025. Since then, Unifi says, Repreve volume accelerated by more than 200 percent through Walmart’s suppliers and partner manufacturers. 

“We’ve been using Repreve’s recycled fibers for 10 years now, and this achievement is the result of not only our commitment to a more sustainable supply chain, but that of our customers, who have purchased products in our stores made with Repreve,” says Deanah Baker, senior vice president for men’s, kids and footwear for Walmart U.S. “This is part of Walmart’s larger goal to move toward a circular economy, where materials stay in use in a productive way that is better for the environment.”

Unifi says producing Repreve recycled polyester comes with additional environmental benefits. In comparison with the manufacturing impacts of producing virgin polyester, Unifi estimates the volume of Repreve recycled polyester produced for Walmart would have:

• saved enough energy to power 9,500 homes for one year, or the energy equivalent to burning roughly 4.7 million gallons of gas;
• saved enough water to provide 117,000 people their typical daily drinking water for one year or saved nearly 22.5 million gallons of water; and,
• improved air quality by avoiding nearly 26 million kgs of CO2 emissions OR eliminated CO2 emissions from the consumption of more than 60,000 barrels of oil.

“By using Repreve fibers in its fitness apparel and fashion lines, the company has helped us divert more than a billion plastic bottles from our landfills,” says Eddie Ingle, CEO of Unifi. “Due to Walmart’s scale and reach, commitment to sustainability and ability to set goals and reach them, we are seeing a shining example of how large retailers can drive change and improve material usage for our earth.”