Unifi Inc’s Repreve seat fabric is a polyester fibre made from a hybrid blend of recycled materials, including post-industrial fibre waste and post-consumer waste such as PET water bottles. Repreve-based fabrics are made from about 22 recycled PET bottles in each car.
“Ford is committed to delivering vehicles with leading fuel efficiency while targeting at least 25% clean technology in interior materials across our lineup,” said Carol Kordich, lead designer of Sustainable Materials for Ford. “The Focus Electric highlights this commitment as Ford’s first gas-free vehicle, and the first in the automotive industry to use branded Repreve.”
“After decades of education, the United States PET bottle recycling rate is only at 29%, about half the rate of Europe,” said Roger Berrier, president and COO of Unifi Inc. “We hope this recycling initiative with Ford will help raise visibility around the importance of recycling, with a goal to drive recycling rates to 100%, diverting millions of plastic bottles from entering the waste stream and potentially back into Repreve-branded fibres.”
Ford and Unifi will help collect some of the bottles destined for Ford vehicles by recycling plastic bottles from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Source: Ford/Unifi
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