What is Repreve®?
Before we dive in, you must know that REPREVE is only a fiber, and not the fabric or the finished garment. Fabric mills purchase REPREVE yarn from Unifi, Inc (the manufacturer of REPREVE) and then weave the fabric. The finished fabric can either be 100% REPREVE or a hybrid with virgin polyester or other fibers (such as Spandex).
REPREVE polyester fiber can also have wicking, thermal comfort, and other performance technologies embedded in the fiber.
Unifi launched REPREVE in 2007, and it is now the world’s leading, branded recycled fiber. Many of the most recognizable, global brands in the world use REPREVE.
Unifi produces 300 million pounds of polyester and nylon fabric annually. To date, they have recycled more than 39 billion plastic bottles.
Plastic bottles, recycled
into performance fibers.
Producing one pound of REPREVE...
- Saves enough energy to run a compact fluorescent light bulb for nearly 22 days
- Saves enough water to provide more than the daily drinking water for one person
- Saves the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted while driving a hybrid car almost 3 miles
REPREVE® has U TRUST® VERIFICATION
TRACEABLE. TRANSPARENT. CERTIFIABLE.
REPREVE was designed to be sustainable and certifiable. REPREVE is the only eco-performance fiber with U TRUST® verification to certify recycled content claims. From any point in the supply chain, using their unique FiberPrint® tracer technology, they can test the fabric to verify REPREVE is in there, and in the right amounts. No false claims.
REPREVE® also has third-party certifications.
A third-party certification provides an independent, objective review of a company’s product claims and environmental performance.
SCS Certification
REPREVE fibers are certified for recycled content claims by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). Every year, SCS performs a full examination of REPREVE's recycled products, including their recycling processes, production records, and manufacturing operations. SCS is a leading third-party certifier and standards developer of environmental and sustainability claims.
Oeko-Tex Certification
Because “sustainable” means different things to different people, REPREVE has also received the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification, a well-known international eco-label. Oeko-Tex offers “Confidence in Textiles,” qualifying that REPREVE's yarns are tested to be free of harmful levels of more than 100 restricted chemicals. The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is the world’s leading label for textiles screened for harmful substances.
GRS Certification
The Global Recycle Standard (GRS) is based on tracking and tracing of recycled content. It uses a transaction certificate-based system, similar to organic certification, to ensure the highest level of integrity. This helps track recycled content throughout the value chain of certified final products.
Manufacturing Process
PET plastic bottles are recycled and collected. The bottles enter a unique material conversion process, where they are chopped, melted, and reformulated to form a recycled chip. The REPREVE chip then enters a proprietary extrusion and texturing process to form REPREVE recycled fiber.