Sustainability: Essential to Performance

It still may not have a leading role, but if there is any doubt that sustainability has moved from bit player to supporting actor in the performance wear industry, consider these numbers. In 2010, Unifi—a global manufacturer of fibers, including a line made from recycled plastic bottles—opened its first US recycling center. At the time, the facility was producing around five million pounds. By May of 2014, demand for the fiber made from those bottles, Repreve, had grown so quickly that Unifi had to expand its recycling capacity to 70 million pounds annually.