College grads in caps, gowns put a new spin on recycled bottles
At their recent commencement, more than 5,000 graduates at George Washington University joined hundreds of thousands of other students across the country in forgoing traditional polyester gowns for versions made entirely from bits of melted plastic.
By Maggie Fazeli Fard, The Washington Post
When George Washington University’s Class of 2012 marched across the Mall in D.C. to accept its degrees recently, the nation’s backyard was transformed into an eco-fashion runway.
Sure, the men wore dress shirts and slacks while the women donned colorful spring dresses and shoes that wouldn’t sink in soft soil. But on top of these outfits, each GWU student sported the newest trend: gowns made from plastic bottles.
More than 5,000 graduates at GWU joined hundreds of thousands of other students across the country in forgoing traditional polyester gowns for versions made entirely from bits of melted plastic.
“The ‘green’ gowns look and feel the same, and the students were really excited,” said Robert Blake, the manager of the GWU bookstore and a member of the university’s regalia committee. “For us, this was really a no-brainer.”
The eco-friendly fashion statement is part of a larger effort by colleges and universities to reduce the carbon footprint of commencement ceremonies.
Read full article here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2018289998_greengowns27.html
Plastics Make it Possible
As you may know, MantraMeds scrubs are cut from a blend of Texas Organic Cotton & Repreve Recycled Polyester, which comes from recycled post-consumer plastics! Found a great website that can serve as an awesome resource for information and trends in recycling plastics. Check it out!
http://plasticsmakeitpossible.com/
Recycle Your Everyday Plastics … Every Day
Many community recycling programs are accepting more and more plastics*—and you may be surprised to learn how many types of plastic packaging can be recycled into new, useful products!
- Beverage bottles made with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic are collected in most curbside programs. This plastic is often melted, stretched into a fine thread, and then woven into soft, durable fabrics used to make things such as clothing, upholstery, and carpeting. (Tip: it’s okay to leave the caps on the bottles; they’ll be removed and processed separately at the recycling facility.)
- Detergent and cleaning product bottles are usually made with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a strong, corrosion-resistant plastic. It is often recycled into outdoor furniture and other durable products such as plastic lumber, park benches, roadside curbs, truck cargo liners, trash receptacles—and new bottles. (Tip: rinse your bottles with water before tossing them in the recycling bin to remove remnants of the detergent or cleaning product.)
- Plastic bags are often made with HDPE or low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic. These bags are collected at many chain grocery stores and large retailers, including Target, Walmart and Lowe’s. Plastic bags generally are recycled into plastic lumber for decks, fences and furniture – and into new plastic bags. (Tip: before recycling bags, be sure they are free of food remnants, and remove any zipper closures. Plastic wraps from drycleaners, newspapers, and many consumer products can be collected with plastic bags.)
- Plastic containers for products such as yogurt, cottage cheese, and margarine are now collected in many curbside programs. They are often made with polypropylene (PP) plastic that is recycled into things such as battery cables, landscape borders, cafeteria trays, and furniture. (Tip: some grocery store chains [e.g., Whole Foods] also collect these containers).
- Plastic foam used to make packaging often is made with polystyrene (PS) plastic that has been expanded with air. Innovative recycling programs can turn foam packaging into insulation, picture frames, building products—and new packaging. (Tip: some shipping companies, such as UPS, accept polystyrene foam packing peanuts for re-use.)
When you consider all the different types of new products that can be made with post-consumer plastics, it’s easy to see why they are such valuable materials. Getting the whole family involved in collecting plastics around the house is a great way to make sure this resource doesn’t go to waste. So recycle these and other everyday products—every day.
* Recycling programs differ greatly; check to see what can be recycled in your community.
Check out these other great articles by Plastics Make it Possible:
earthspun apparel 100% Recycled T-Shirts now available in LONG SLEEVE!
earthspun apparel 100% recycled tees are now available on MantraMeds.com in long sleeve! We carry men’s and women’s long sleeve tees in colors Beer Bottle Brown, Water Bottle Blue, & Soda Pop Green.
earthspun tees are made with superior quality, American made, ring spun yarns. The fabric is a unique blend of recycled polyester (RPET) fibers from green, brown and blue plastic bottles. These are combined with American recycled cotton to create an earth friendly, unbelievably soft garment.
The result? Colorful tees that require no dying process, provide superior comfort, long lasting durability and quick drying performance that tread lightly on Mother Earth.
Try earthspun® apparel and feel the difference!
Car seats from Recycled Plastic Bottles on New Ford Focus Electric
The new Ford Focus electric car uses Repreve recycled polyester by Unifi – this is the same polyester Mantrameds uses in our 65/35 poly/cotton blend sustainable fabric for our scrubs.
By Cameron Chai
It takes plastic bottles and other industrial wastes to make the recycled polyester fibre Repreve, which in turn is used as the fabric for car seats in the all new Ford Focus Electric car. Repreve is manufactured by Unifi, one of the world’s leading environmentally sustainable fabric manufacturers.
The Ford Focus Electric is made of sustainable materials intended to cut down on waste. Thus using the Repreve was a natural choice of recycled material. According to Unifi, a single Ford Focus Electric car uses 22 plastic water bottles of 16 Oz capacity for its car seats. The car is electrically powered and has zero carbon emissions, which is very much in line with the environmentally green concept.
As part of its 2009 mandate to its fabric suppliers to use 25% recycled content in their products, 37 fabrics, which have met Ford’s requirements have been incorporated. This is part of Ford’s “Reduce, reuse and recycle” environmentally sustainable global strategy. Repreve reduces the energy consumed in refining virgin material from crude oil. The company recently announced that it uses plastic bottles weighing 20-25 Oz for the carpeting in its new Ford Escape utility vehicle. This is the first time the company has used such carpeting for an SUV. Ford has previously used various non-metal materials that have been recycled for specific applications. Some examples of such usage are seat covers made of recycled yarn, wheat straw-filled plastics, head restraints and seat cushions made of soy foam, instrument panels consisting of castor oil foam and underbody systems made of recycled resins.
Source: http://www.ford.com
Read more at http://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=31228
