Dive Brief:

• Ford Motor Company announced it started using Repreve fibers (created from recycled plastics) in its new F-150 pickups. 
• The Detroit-area automaker claims it will divert over 5 million plastic beverage bottles from landfills as a result of integrating the plastics into the truck.
• Ford has the recycled plastics, made by Greensboro, NC-based Unifi, in five of its vehicles.

Dive Insight:

Ford has been working with the recycler since 2012. The auto manufacturer is currently the only car company to use Repreve in its vehicles, it says. Carol Kordich, Ford’s lead designer of global sustainability materials strategy development says the company is always looking for ways to use innovative and sustainable materials into its cars.

Another Detroit institution, the Detroit Lions, partnered with Repreve in August 2014. Quarterbacks on the sports team wore jerseys made from recycled bottles. Repreve works with many organizations to transform bottles into useable products. In the past, the recycled materials have been used in the Ford Focus, Polartec fleece, and graduation gowns.