The circle of it: This company offers clothing and other accessories created from recycled bottles and recycled textile fibers, thereby creating a new material from post-consumer waste.
recover brands
Summary
Recover brands has created a means to recycle old clothes, by creating a take-back program for customers to recycle their old T-shirts. The company utilizes the fibers recovered from this post-consumer waste in addition to plastic waste from single-used recycled bottles and creates a 50/50 part cotton/yarn fiber. The company creates sustainable clothing from these recycled/waste products and also creates awareness and demand for a new type of clothing product. The company does all its manufacturing in Central America.
Story
When founders Bill Johnston and John Riddle first met, they hit it off with a mutual love for the outdoors and mountain biking. They started riding together and kicking around ideas around sustainability and recycled textiles. Johnston had a background in supply chain and a passion for sustainability. Riddle was passionate about upcycled cotton and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Putting their heads together, they decided to start the business together.
Pic Credit: Recover Brands (right and top)
“One of the coolest parts of that process is that the color in the shirts actually comes from the upcycled cottons, eliminating the need for dyes and chemicals throughout the entire manufacturing process. That saves a tremendous amount of water and energy. Our shirts use less than a tenth of the water needed to produce a conventional shirt. “
Bill Johnston in an interview
Founder(s)
Bill Johnston, John Riddle
Headquarters
Charlotte, North Carolina
In business since
2010
Business type
for profit
Impact
Since 2010, the company has diverted over 16 million plastic bottles from landfills (Source)
Technology
creating a new supply chain for post consumer textiles through a take-back/recycling scheme, creating a new type of yarn from post-consumer textiles and recycled plastic bottles
Material
recycled plastic bottles and post consumer textiles
Website
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