The company turning 4 billion plastic bottles into clothes 這間公司將40億個塑膠瓶變成衣服
Some 400,000 college students will accept
diplomas this year while wearing gowns made entirely of plastic bottles.
今年畢業的40萬名大學生將會穿上完全由塑膠瓶製成的畢業袍。
It's not a joke or a gimmick. It's a statement
on how to keep trash out of landfills, said Jay Hertwig, VP of global branding
for textile maker Unifi.
Unifi, based in Greensboro, North Carolina,
produces 300 million pounds of polyester and nylon yarn annually.
Jay Hertwig（美國紗線生產製造商Unifi公司的VP，公司總部位於北卡羅來納州格林斯伯勒，每年生產3億磅的聚酯纖維和尼龍）表示這不是個玩笑或是宣傳噱頭，而是想要讓垃圾不要進入廢棄物掩埋場的宣言。
"As a manufacturer, we asked ourselves what
we could do to be more innovative and a socially responsible company,"
said Hertwig.
Repreve was the answer. It's the firm's flagship
fiber brand made from recycled materials.
Hertwig說：「身為製造商，我們問了問自己，要如何成為一間社會責任公司並且同時變得更加的創新，」而Repreve就是答案，Repreve是這間公司用回收材料打造的纖維旗艦品牌。
Unifi's Repreve recycling center is a 50,000
square foot facility in Yadkinville, North Carolina, where plastic bottles,
fiber waste and fabric scraps get deposited.
Unifi的Repreve回收中心位於北卡羅來納州亞德金維爾佔地5萬平方英尺，是放置塑膠瓶、纖維垃圾和纖維廢料的地方。
The company collects clear plastic bottles from
processors around the country who first shred them into plastic flakes.
這間公司從全國各地加工商那收集乾淨的塑膠瓶，而塑膠瓶在加工商那就會先被撕碎成塑膠碎片。
"We purchase these plastic flakes and
convert them into small pellets," said Hertwig. The pellets are then
melted, extruded and spun into polyester yarn.
Hertwigu說：「我們買進這些塑膠碎片並把它們轉變成塑膠顆粒，」這些顆粒接下來將會被融化、擠壓並製成滌綸紗。
Repreve makes three types of recycled yarn: 100%
from used plastic bottles, a hybrid of plastic bottles and fiber waste, and a
hybrid of plastic bottles and used fabric.
Repreve製造三種回收紗線：百分之百從使用過的塑膠瓶所製而成的紗線、塑膠瓶和纖維廢料混合而成的紗線和塑膠瓶加上舊纖維混合而成的紗線。
Since the brand launched in 2009, Hertwig said
production has increased about 20% every year.
Hertwig說這個品牌自2009年創裡以來，每年的產量都增加百分之20。
Repreve yarn is used to make everything from
jackets and T-shirts to dress pants and even car upholstery. It's used in
brands like Patagonia, The North Face, Levi's, Adidas, Nike (NKE) andFord (F).
Repreve紗線被用來製造各式各樣的東西，從夾克和Ｔ恤到洋裝、褲子甚至是汽車坐墊，一些品牌像是Patagonia、The
North Face、Levi’s、愛迪達、Nike和福特汽車都有使用這個材料。
Another customer is Oak Hall Cap & Gown,
which makes graduation gowns from the 100% Repreve yarn spun from plastic
bottles. It takes 27 used bottles to make one gown, Hertwig said.
他們另一個客戶是利用百分之百塑膠瓶所製成的Repreve紗線製造畢業袍的Oak
Hall Cap & Gown，Hertwig說每一件畢業服需要27個舊寶特瓶。
He said more than 1,250 schools are using its
Repreve-based graduation gowns, including Brown University, Michigan State,
Yale, Notre Dame and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
他說有超過1,250所學校使用Repreve紗線製成的畢業袍，包括布朗大學、密西根州立大學、耶魯大學、聖母大學和北卡羅來納大學教堂山分校。
"Schools want their campuses to embrace
sustainability in terms of waste management, energy conservation and
environmental protection," said Hertwig. "The gowns are a great way
for them to spread that message, especially among millennials."
Hertwig說：「學校希望他們的校園能夠擁抱廢物利用、能源節省和環境保護所創造的永續性，對他們而言畢業袍就是對年輕一代（千禧世代）傳達此訊息最好的方式。」
The recycling center is currently able to
produce 72 million pounds of Repreve fiber annually. Hertwig said they plan to
increase production to about 100 million pounds by next year.
近年來回收中心能夠製造7200萬英磅的Repreve纖維，Hertwig表示他們計劃明年產量要增加到1000萬英磅。
Unifi has turned 4 billion used plastic bottles
into yarn in the last seven years. At the same time, there's an opportunity to
recycle other plastic like food storage containers and plastic cutlery.
在過去七年Unifi已經將40億個舊塑膠瓶製作成紗線，同時，他們也有利用其他塑膠製品像是食物儲存容器或是塑膠餐具。
"If it's made from PET, we can recycle
it," said Hertwig. "This is all about educating consumers that
high-quality products can be made from recycled waste."
Hertwig說：「如果那樣東西是由PET塑料所致，我們就有辦法回收它。這全都是為了告訴消費著者，高品質的產品也有可能是由回收廢料所製成。」
