Unifi is a Greensboro, North Carolina-based company. They produce 300 million pounds of polyester and nylon yarn every year. Much of that yarn will go into making one of the 400,000 sets of caps and gowns worn by graduates across the country this year.
The company collects clear plastic bottles from processors around the country who first shred them into plastic flakes.
The plastic bottles are turned into small flakes that are then ground down into even smaller pellets. The pellets are in turn melted down, pulled out and spun into a yarn.
Repreve makes three types of recycled yarn: 100% from used plastic bottles, a hybrid of plastic bottles and fiber waste, and a hybrid of plastic bottles and used fabric.
Since the brand launched in 2009, Hertwig said production has increased about 20% every year.
Repreve yarn is used to make everything from jackets and T-shirts to dress pants and even car upholstery. It's used in brands like Patagonia, The North Face, Levi's, Adidas, Nike (NKE) andFord (F).
Watch a 45-second video on how plastic bottles turn into clothes.