Repreve. Turning plastic bottles into boardshorts

Repreve. Mysterious material that Volcom and Quiksilver use in their new collection for water sports especially. Find out what this term really means.

Just imagine it. It's a sunny day and you are enjoying a perfect surf ride when you suddenly get a glimpse at a bunch of plastic trash on the next beach. Does this also make you feel sad and angry inside? We have good news for you. Quiksilver and Volcom found a way to make something meaningful out of such hated plastic, even though it may seem useless.

This is exactly how the idea of creating a Repreve collection of boardshorts was created. Now, they are something that everybody loves, right?

For both brands, everything started with a partnership with Repreve, which recycles plastic bottles and converts them into fibers. These can then be used to make clothes and give the material a second life.

This year's Volcom and Quiksilver boardshorts collection is almost entirely made of recycled Repreve fibers. Volcom reports that for creation of each boardshorts with these fibers, nealy five plastic bottles need to be recycled, and Quiksilver reports that 11 million plastic bottles are recycled each year to produce their products.

Plastic Boardshorts? You kidding me?

No, we're really not. Quiksilver, in cooperation with Repreve, was able to turn plastic bottles into a functional and very popular product - boardshorts. This process is simple and complex at the same time, and includes 4 consecutive parts:

1. Firstly, plastic bottles are collected and recycled.
2. The bottles are then chopped into the so-called flakes.
3. The flakes are ground, melted, and reformulated into the Repreve chips.
4. Subsequently, the chips are melted and extruded into Repreve recycled fiber. This fiber is turned into fabric, and after some time, your favorite and eco-friendly boardshorts are made.

In this video, you can also see how the Repreve yarn is made:

Simple, isn't it? The simplicity of this process lies mainly in the fact that most plastic bottles are made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate). PET is also a part of polyester, which is commonly used in boardshorts as well as various other products.The complexity, on the other hand, can be based on the fact that getting boardshorts out of plastic bottles takes a little bit of work and lots of ingenuity. However, you will surely agree that it's worth it. For the better tomorrow and the future of oceans without plastic! Also thanks to new generation boardshorts.

Protecting the environment without which we could not enjoy the sports that we have in our blood has become an important part of our lives and, according to the recent trends, the brands that stood at the birth of these sports are already beginning to perceive it.

Summer is here, so dress up for boardshorts made from plastic bottles and hit the waves!