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Ford Fusion hybrid customers can donate to the charity of their choice through the REPREVE® Gives Back program—and help recycle 2 million plastic bottles into the innovative seat fabric of the car in the first model year alone. Unifi’s REPREVE brand of recycled fibers are used in the all-new 2013 Fusion Hybrid, Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid and 2012 Ford Focus Electric. Through Unifi’s REPREVE Gives Back program, a portion of REPREVE-based sales are donated to environmental nonprofit organizations, including Keep America Beautiful, American Rivers, Rocky Mountain Institute and Conservation Alliance.
“REPREVE Gives Back is a natural fit for Fusion hybrid customers who already are contributing to a better world by saving fuel while driving and keeping water bottles from landfills,” said Carol Kordich, Ford’s lead designer of sustainable materials. “Ford is committed to delivering vehicles with leading fuel efficiency while targeting at least 25 percent recycled content in seat fabric across our lineup.”
Customers may designate:
- Keep America Beautiful – creates a cleaner, greener America, from national parks to community gardens;
- Conservation Alliance – protects North America’s last wild places by supporting conservation work at the local level;
- American Rivers – protects and restores America’s rivers and the full variety of life they sustain;
- Rocky Mountain Institute – an organization working to accelerate the profitable transition from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables.
Through the program, Ford customers and supporters can help determine how the funds will be distributed among the four nonprofits. To vote, customers must “like” REPREVE on Facebook and click the “Gives Back” tab to get a passcode. At www.repreve.com, customers can vote for their favorite environmental cause and learn more about REPREVE recycled fiber of choice.
REPREVE is made from a hybrid blend of post-industrial and post-consumer waste. Each Focus Electric seating interior contains the equivalent of about 22 recycled plastic bottles made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate)—the technical name of the plastic of which the bottles are made—while Fusion hybrids feature nearly 42 bottles.
In addition to recycling waste that otherwise could have ended up in landfills, REPREVE reduces energy consumption by offsetting the need to use newly refined crude oil. REPREVE fiber meets all Ford design and comfort requirements to help ensure the Fusion hybrids and Focus Electric meet the company’s high performance standards. Unifi and Ford also are working together to set up plastic bottle collection points within Ford facilities in Michigan and California.
In addition to Ford, REPREVE can be found throughout many products made by some of the leading brands and retailers, including Polartec, Life Khaki, The North Face, Patagonia and Blue Avocado.