The REPREVE yarn was made from recycled bottles collected in Norrøna's home country, Norway, in collaboration with Tomra and Norsk Resirk. About 40 plastic bottles were used to make each /29 warm4 up-cycled Jacket. By using PET bottles instead of the traditional use of crude oil in production, Norrøna takes a step in the right direction towards reducing the carbon footprint of the /29 warm4 up-cycled Jacket. It takes approximately 2 kg crude oil to produce 1 kg of raw material in the traditional process.
The particular recycled Polartec® Wind Pro® fabric features a high loft interior, providing increased warmth without weight. Polartec® Wind Pro® is four times more wind resistant than traditional fleece, highly breathable, durable, and water repellent, making the /29 warm4 up-cycled Jacket a very versatile product for the whole year.
“We are now launching our first sports garment made exclusively from returned bottles,” says Norrøna owner and chief executive Jørgen Jørgensen. “The goal is to recycle up the value chain, so that bottles can be turned into advanced sportswear.”
“For a long time, a fairly low proportion of recycled material was used; as little as 10 percent, says Chuck Haryslak of Polartec. “But after a while we were able to add more and more and can now make a fabric without adding fresh polyester and without a loss of quality.”
“When Norrøna brought this idea to us, we were very excited about the opportunity to prove out the concept that we can provide our customers with custom recycling solutions,” said Mark McNeill, product development manager for Unifi. “With our unique capabilities at the REPREVE Recycling Center, we were able to offer Norrøna a REPREVE based product made from bottles collected in their country with performance equal to virgin.”
Norrona Magazine article on the up-cycling process.
About Polartec, LLC
Polartec, LLC is the developer, manufacturer, and marketer of Polartec® performance fabrics. Polartec® products range from lightweight wicking base layers, to insulation layers, to extreme weather protection and are utilized by the best clothing brands in the world. For more information, visit polartec.com.
REPREVE is a registered trademark of Unifi, Inc.


