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We Make Amazing: Under Armour Wins Unifi Inc.’s Champion of Sustainability Award

Unifi executives recently met with Under Armour leaders in Baltimore to present the company with its REPREVE® Champions of Sustainability award. To date, Under Armour has recycled 69 million bottles through its use of REPREVE recycled fiber, which offsets the use of petroleum needed to produce virgin fiber. This conserves enough water to nearly fill Baltimore’s National Aquarium to capacity.

Two National Council of Textile Organization (NCTO) member companies are making giant strides in the area of sustainability with the production and use of recycled performance fibers.

Unifi Inc., a global producer of synthetic and recycled performance fibers, which launched sustainability awards two years ago, has awarded Under Armour Inc. its REPREVE® Champions of Sustainability award.

By incorporating Unifi’s REPREVE recycled fiber in its athletic performance wear, Under Armour has recycled the equivalent of 69 million bottles, which offsets the use of petroleum needed to produce virgin fiber. Taking this step, the company has conserved enough water to nearly fill Baltimore’s National Aquarium to capacity.

“The REPREVE Champions of Sustainability Awards are meant to honor and inspire companies to source responsibly and take sustainability strategies to the next level,” said Jay Hertwig, senior vice president of Global Brand Sales at Unifi. “We’re proud to partner with Under Armour to create eco-friendly apparel for the good of tomorrow.”

For an industry that is often not given its due for developing and employing advanced sustainable technologies and practices that mitigate their impact on the environment, these awards highlight how Unifi and other major brands and textile partners are playing a role in sustainability.

Unifi’s REPREVE recycled performance fibers transform more than 18 billion plastic bottles into recycled fiber for new clothing, shoes, home goods and other consumer products made by leading brands. The company is on track to hit its goal of 20 billion plastic bottles by 2020.

Recognizing the importance of incorporating more sustainable inputs and practices into business models, Unifi joined teams with The Olio, a nonprofit organization based in Winston-Salem, N.C. that focuses on teaching and empowerment through entrepreneurship, glassblowing, art and sustainable practices. The Olio uses sustainable materials to make the trophies given to winners of the awards program each year.

The Champions of Sustainability awards continue to recognize brands, retailers and textile partners that are committed to sustainable sourcing.

In 2018, Unifi recognized 68 companies as Champions of Sustainability, which represented a 36 percent increase over the total in 2017. Nike and Target joined Polartec in the “Billion Bottle Circle” for recycling more than one billion bottles each, while Ford and H&M were recognized for recycling more than 250 million bottles.

Adidas, Hanesbrands, Volcom and Williams-Sonoma were also recognized for reaching new milestones in 2018.

The REPREVE Champions of Sustainability were awarded to 28 brand and retail partners in 2018 that each used the equivalent of 10 million or more bottles, and 30 textile partners that each used the equivalent of 50 million or more bottles, through the inclusion of REPREVE performance fibers.

The full list of third annual award winners will be announced in January 2020.