Recover
In the Fall of 2009, an outdoor enthusiast met a textile producer to buy a bike. Neither knew that this transaction would fuel not only a friendship built on the bike trails in North Carolina, but also a company built on doing the right thing. One day John Riddle, the textile veteran, explained to Bill Johnston that there was a better way to make shirts. He explained that by using manufacturing scraps and recycled bottles, they could create a material that kept trash out of the landfills and saved new resources from being extracted. Bill jumped on the idea. Six years later, Recover is still always looking for better, from manufacturing and labor to the dyes they use on their clothes!
Driven to do better
Recover was founded on the principle of doing the right thing. The founders, Bill and John, created this company because they felt that textiles could be made in a better way, and they constantly apply that criticism to their everyday practices. Not only does Recover create their t-shirts and other products in an innovative way, utilizing recycled materials and efficient processes, but they're always looking for new ways to make them even better.
Most of their t-shirts are made using a recycled PET and recycled cotton blend. They utilize post-consumer plastic bottles and cotton from industrial waste to create their soft, comfortable clothes. Compared to traditional manufacturers, Recover's processes generate 35% less greenhouse gas emissions, expend 66% less energy, and use 55% less water to create each shirt. Additionally, Recover places a strong emphasis on using very few dyes, reducing chemical use, and ultimately using as little water and energy as possible.
Recover also places a large emphasis on social responsibility. They employ Haitian and Guatemalan citizens who would otherwise have trouble finding employment. Their Guatemalan facility is powered using alternative energy sources, including wood chips from the local forestry industry and coffee extract! Plus, they've partnered with the Island School, an environmentally oriented education program in the Bahamas that focuses on maintaining biodiversity in reefs.