Dive Brief:
- On Sept. 19, recycled fiber company Repreve will help the University of North Carolina student section "Turn It Green" at Kenan Stadium when the Tar Heels face the University of Illinois Fighting Illini in Chapel Hill. Students will get T-shirts and rally towels made from Repreve fibers, and the UNC football cheerleaders, dance team and mascot Rameses will wear lime green Repreve jerseys. More than 20,000 plastic bottles will be recycled into the clothing items for the event.
- At halftime, Repreve will let four students "Make the Smart Throw" by tossing water bottles into recycling bins for a chance to win a $1,000 UNC Student Stores gift certificate and Repreve prizes.
- The event's purpose is to "help educate and encourage our students to make sustainable decisions that will benefit future generations," said football coach Larry Fedora in a press release. In December, a similar event was held at the university's Dean E. Smith Center for a men's basketball game, and a third event is planned during the coming basketball season.
Dive Insight:
Repreve is a company that turns recycled plastic bottles into fiber to make fabric found in consumer products, including Ford trucks, North Face jackets and Polartec fleece. And lately, the company has been scoring with football teams. For the second consecutive year, the NFL's Detroit Lions will partner with Repreve as the team's official sustainability partner. The company, based in Greensboro, NC, will sponsor the Oct. 25 game.
By gaining partners, Repreve is able to expand its company's mission to a large community, as well as provide easy recycling at major sporting events. In the 2014 season, Lions Team President Tom Lewand said "fans recycled nearly 60,000 plastic bottles at Ford Field."
Repreve's parent company, Unifi Inc. broke ground in July on the $10 million, 85,000-square-foot expansion of its Repreve Recycling Center in Yadkinville, NC, which opened in 2011.
