{"id":8342,"date":"2017-11-09T20:01:52","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T03:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/?p=8342"},"modified":"2017-11-10T11:37:18","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T18:37:18","slug":"fashion-company-transforms-plastic-bottles-into-activewear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/2017\/11\/09\/fashion-company-transforms-plastic-bottles-into-activewear\/","title":{"rendered":"Fashion Company Transforms Plastic Bottles Into Activewear"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article__ArticleAuthorDate___2luLI\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleIntro___3HL-Z\">The fashion industry receives a lot of criticism for a lack of eco-friendly sourcing and production methods. As explained in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/truecostmovie.com\/learn-more\/environmental-impact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The True Cost<\/a>, a documentary about the industry, clothing companies are leaving behind a substantial environmental footprint. Certain aspects of the fashion industry, known as “fast fashion,” can be particularly bad on this front, given their high production rate and the amount of clothing quickly tossed to the landfills when styles change with the seasons.<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldText___Pw3OH Article__ArticleField___2MNHv\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.girlfriend.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Girlfriend Collective\u00a0<\/a>(GC) has tackled this issue head-on by creating an eco-friendly line of activewear clothing. GC was founded to offer people a completely transparent clothing line. The Seattle based company is built from top to bottom with sustainability initiatives in mind. All of their packaging is recycled and recyclable, and they make most of their clothing with post-consumer products.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldEmbed___piHgC Article__ArticleField___2MNHv\">\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldEmbedHtmlWrap___1WCHy\">\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldEmbedHtml___3P23l\"><a href=\"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/2017\/11\/09\/fashion-company-transforms-plastic-bottles-into-activewear\/screen-shot-2017-11-06-at-9-06-34-pm\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-8343\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8343\" src=\"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Screen-Shot-2017-11-06-at-9.06.34-PM.png\" alt=\"Girlfriend Collective Activewear\" width=\"435\" height=\"669\" srcset=\"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Screen-Shot-2017-11-06-at-9.06.34-PM.png 435w, https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Screen-Shot-2017-11-06-at-9.06.34-PM-195x300.png 195w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 435px) 100vw, 435px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldText___Pw3OH Article__ArticleField___2MNHv\">\n<p>How does this work? To begin with, the company sources post-consumer water bottles to create clothes and divert items from landfills. They\u2019ve set their sights on plastic from Taiwan because the government there has set up a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.girlfriend.com\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comprehensive recycling program<\/a>\u00a0throughout the island.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldText___Pw3OH Article__ArticleField___2MNHv\">\n<p>Once collected, the plastic water bottles are organized by type. GC uses BPA free #1 plastics, which are also known as polyethylene terephthalate or PET. Once categorized, the used plastic goes to processing centers which clean and chip the bottles down. GC only works with material that is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/girlfriend-content\/certifications\/Oeko-Text-Certification.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">certified Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex<\/a>, a third party organization which tests fabrics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldText___Pw3OH Article__ArticleField___2MNHv\">\n<p>Next, a machine spins the chips into threads which are then knit via machine into fabrics. The following process, dying, is a tricky step. This part is where so many factories often drop the ball and can harm the environment. GC\u2019s dying process is entirely structured to use eco-friendly methods so they can stay aligned with their environmental principles.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, the factory ensures that all water used is treated right on site, so it does not contaminate nearby rivers or water sources. Once the machine removes the OEKO-certified safe dyes from the water, and it\u2019s determined safe by the Taiwanese EPA, GC disposes of the water by sending it to a pavement facility where is up-cycled to make roads.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldEmbed___piHgC Article__ArticleField___2MNHv\">\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldEmbedHtmlWrap___1WCHy\">\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldEmbedHtml___3P23l\"><a href=\"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/2017\/11\/09\/fashion-company-transforms-plastic-bottles-into-activewear\/screen-shot-2017-11-06-at-9-08-38-pm\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-8344\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8344\" src=\"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Screen-Shot-2017-11-06-at-9.08.38-PM.png\" alt=\"Girlfriend Collective Plastic Bottles\" width=\"436\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Screen-Shot-2017-11-06-at-9.08.38-PM.png 436w, https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Screen-Shot-2017-11-06-at-9.08.38-PM-238x300.png 238w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 436px) 100vw, 436px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldText___Pw3OH Article__ArticleField___2MNHv\">\n<p>Finally, the materials are cut and sewn. Since this stage is the most human intensive part, GC made sure they teamed up with a factory that treats their workers fairly and is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/girlfriend-content\/certifications\/SA+8000+certification.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SA8000 certified<\/a>.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sa-intl.org\/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=1689\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"broken_link\">Social Accountability International<\/a>\u00a0established this certification to ensure that social standards are created and met by organizations. Similar to the Fair Trade certification, an SA8000 certification lets GC customers know that the clothes was made in environment free of harmful employee conditions such as child labor or dangerous conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldText___Pw3OH Article__ArticleField___2MNHv\">\n<p>One common concern people often have about clothing made from recycled plastic is the effect of washing the garments because they can release microfibers into the water. GC is working on a solution to make sure this doesn\u2019t happen. In the meantime, GC encourages their customers to use\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.patagonia.com\/product\/guppyfriend-washing-bag\/O2191.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Patagonia\u2019s washing bag<\/a>\u00a0which helps reduce the number of microfibers that can enter the water system. They also suggest washing the clothing on spin cycle and hang drying. This also minimizes energy usage from the machine, which is always easier on the environment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Article__ArticleFieldText___Pw3OH Article__ArticleField___2MNHv\">\n<p>As a sustainable clothing company, GC hopes to set a new standard in the fashion industry, and they continue to look for more ways to help women break a sweat responsibly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenmatters.com\/living\/2017\/11\/03\/7i0gv\/green-activewear\">Green Matters<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Source of images: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/girlfriendcollective\/?hl=en\" class=\"broken_link\">Girlfriend Collective Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Women of Green<\/a>\u00a0is TURNING UP THE VOLUME of the feminine voice on the planet in order to create the world we know is possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fashion industry receives a lot of criticism for a lack of eco-friendly sourcing and production methods. Girlfriend Collective\u00a0(GC) has tackled this issue head-on by creating an eco-friendly line of activewear clothing. GC was founded to offer people a completely transparent clothing line. The Seattle based company is built from top to bottom with sustainability initiatives in mind. All of their packaging is recycled and recyclable, and they make most of their clothing with post-consumer products.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1346,1359,1347],"tags":[2253,1379,2254,2252,1804,8],"class_list":["post-8342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-featured-post","category-innovation","tag-clothing-made-from-plastic-bottles","tag-eco-fashion","tag-ecofriendly-activewear","tag-girlfriend-collective","tag-sustainable-fashion","tag-women-of-green"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8348,"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8342\/revisions\/8348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenofgreen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}