By and large, the focus of U.S. end markets for recycled PET has shifted from textiles to food packaging in recent years, but North Carolina-based Unifi is working to develop end uses for recycled plastics in fashion and other textile applications, its CEO said in a recent interview.

CEO Eddie Ingle told Plastics Recycling Update that the energy is there at Unifi to create cotton-like fabrics from recycled PET with the feel and touch of cotton-viscose, also known as viscose blends.

Viscose is the most commonly used artificial cellulose fiber and is mostly obtained from wood pulp. Textile Exchangeof which Unifi is a member.

In addition, the company is close to signing purchase agreements with customers outside the apparel industry, further increasing demand for RPET in textiles.

“The next phase (promoting adoption) is to educate people on how to use this replacement to mimic traditional garments,” Ingle said, referring to Unifi’s Repreve RPET offering.

Unifi’s efforts include having company representatives speak at well-attended fashion conferences to introduce designers to new developments in recycled polyester yarn technology.

“We’re teaching young designers how to use these new technologies to achieve the comfort and elasticity they expect,” Ingle said. “We believe the best way to communicate what’s out there is to talk about what’s possible.”

Unifi’s recent product launches include its ThermaLoop insulation line, which is made from 100% recycled material, with at least half of that made from post-consumer textiles, according to an Aug. 20 study. Press release.

ThermoLoop is available in a variety of forms – as padding, as goose down-like fiber and as fiber balls – and is designed for use in home goods as well as outdoor gear such as sleeping bags and winter coats.

“The ThermaLoop cushioning product is the first of its kind to feature a low-melt Repreve fiber made from recycled polyester, allowing our customers to offer a broader range of sustainable offerings,” Ingle said during an investor conference on Aug. 21. A low melting point helps the polymer bond well with other fibers and expands potential end uses.

ThermaLoop is also available in black, which allowed Unifi to expand its range of raw materials beyond transparent PET bottles and include a wider variety of textile waste, Ingle said.

In the Americas, RPET has traditionally been used in textiles such as carpets rather than packaging – the opposite dynamic of virgin PET. This was due to the relatively low quality of the PCR available and despite the fact that the vast majority of global textile production is located in Asia. However, with advances in sorting and processing technologies, more RPET is now used for packaging in the US than for textiles.

Unifi uses integrated mechanical recycling of PET bottle bales from private households as well as textile waste from industry and private use, which are processed using proprietary technologies.

The company also recently launched a dyeable white Repreve filament yarn, made from material obtained through the Textile return process. The yarn is made from 50% textile takeback material and 50% recycled bottles, Ingle said at the investor conference.

Another unique feature of the yarn is that it is available on a large scale, at a time when most activities in the field of recycled plastics are still in smaller pilot or experimental phases.

“We only use products that can be adopted at scale,” Ingle told Plastics Recycling Update. “This is not a capsule program and we believe the market can adopt it very quickly. We don’t want to offer small solutions, we want big solutions.”

Repreve recycled polyester offerings are used in the following areas: well-known brands like Nike, Kate Spade clothing and Teva shoes.

“More than just clothes”

Although Unifi’s customers have traditionally been in the apparel space, over the past 12 to 18 months the company has focused on expanding its base to include other applications. These categories, collectively referred to as “beyond apparel,” include home goods, military, automotive and industrial applications.

Adding the categories will help diversify Repreve’s markets – and more evenly balance demand for PCR raw materials and textiles – but will also provide significantly better margins, said Al Carey, Unifi’s executive chairman, during the investor conference in August.

“With some of these clients, it takes a long time to get the quality of your product confirmed, the schedule right and the contracts signed,” Carey said. “But it happens.”

In fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30, Repreve fiber sales accounted for 32% of Unifi’s net sales, up 2 points from the previous fiscal year but still significantly less than the 37% in fiscal year 2021.

However, the company is “excited about this increase” between fiscal 2023 and 2024, Ingle told Plastics Recycling Update, adding that the majority of Unifi’s business in Asia is based on Repreve.

“We don’t see people moving away from their commitment to being sustainable, but I think there is a shift in the way they describe their sustainable activities,” he said, noting that companies are disclosing their full carbon footprint, including emissions, use of virgin materials and use of recycled plastic.

In the August conference call with investors, Ingle said the growing Repreve product range offers a balance between circularity and sustainability, and is suitable for customers who value reducing their overall carbon footprint as well as those looking to reduce their use of fossil fuels, in the form of polyester feedstocks derived from crude oil and liquefied gases such as ethane.

“We have been on the recycling journey for a long time and what excites us is that the market is demanding more circular solutions,” Ingle told Plastics Recycling Update. “We as an industry are under pressure to reduce the carbon footprint, but bringing materials back into the supply chain provides an opportunity to discuss how they (customers) can become more circular as a brand.”

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