FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—Representatives of Valley Forge Fabrics attended Unifi’s official opening of the REPREVE Recycling Center early last month in Yadkinville, N.C. The $8 million investment will allow Unifi to expand production capacities of its REPREVE recycled fiber. At the ribbon cutting ceremony, Valley Forge was recognized by Unifi along with other major brands such as Nike and Patagonia as customers with REPREVE in their product offerings.
REPREVE is a family of first quality recycled polyester and nylon fibers that can be used in a wide range of applications, including apparel, automotive, seating and paneling fabrics. Since its introduction in 2006, REPREVE has grown from a singe recycled polyester fiber into an entire brand of sustainable products. In the last two years alone, more than 247 million post-consumer PET bottles have been recycled into REPREVE. Unifi estimates to recycle more than 400 million bottles into REPREVE in 2012 in its REPREVE Recycling Center. Valley Forge includes REPREVE in its sustainable fabric collections called FRESH.
Valley Forge Fabrics, a leader in sustainable textiles and the largest producer of decorative fabrics for hospitality, launched its FRESH initiative more than five years ago. FRESH is an acronym for Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards for Hospitality. The company has included REPREVE within its FRESH collections from day one. Valley Forge maintains that nearly 70 percent of their running line items are FRESH or LIVING FRESH.
“As our customers, in increasing numbers, continue to specify FRESH fabrics, we count and report the number of bottles we save from landfills and we get extremely excited to see those numbers go up,” said Ken Koneck, public affairs manager for Valley Forge. “It is very important to us to use recycled fiber and REPREVE is the perfect yarn for us.”
Unifi, Inc. is a diversified producer and processor of multi-filament polyester and nylon textured yarns and related raw materials. Key Unifi brands include, but are not limited to: AIO all-in-one performance yarns, SORBTEK, A.M.Y., MYNX UV, REPREVE, REFLEXX, MICROVISTA, and SATURA. Unifi’s yarns and brands are readily found in home furnishings, apparel, leg wear, and sewing thread, as well as industrial, automotive, military, and medical applications. For more information about Unifi, visit www.unifi.com, or to learn more about REPREVE, visit www.repreve.com. For more information on Valley Forge or their FRESH collection, visit www.valleyforge.com.
