In honour of World Ocean’s Day, Barco Uniforms announced that it has recycled over 40 million plastic bottles in bulk, driven by record sales of top-selling sustainable healthcare apparel brands Barco One and Skechers by Barco. While that figure represents an annual increase of 115%, the company’s recycled bottles are roughly 4,875 miles long, close to a round trip from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh if lined-up end-to-end.
One of the leading names in the professional apparel industry, Barco’s best-selling healthcare apparel brands use between 5 and 7 recycled plastic bottles in the fabric of each garment. In the rPET process, plastic bottles are cleaned, shredded into pellets, and spun into thread woven into polyester. Barco’s in-house design team continues production with the assurance of this process.
Sales of Barco Uniforms branded products are increasing year by year
Barco Uniforms President and CEO Ron Wagenseil said Barco’s commitment to improving sustainable practices is a natural extension of their mission to lead with purposeful innovation. Wagenseil stated that the dynamic and sustained sales growth year-over-year of both Barco One and Skechers by Barco clearly shows that their customers agree.
Barco Uniforms is the choice of health professionals with its sustainable brands
Barco One branded sustainable scrubs, announced by Barco in 2016, are not only preferred by healthcare professionals. It is also in demand by veterinarians, who prefer proprietary fabric’s anti-static and temperature-regulating properties, and Barco’s Quick-Shed technology, which releases animal hair quickly from the surface of the fabric. Barco One incorporates five recycled plastic bottles into the fabric of each garment, while the Skechers by Barco scrub brand, launched in 2017, incorporates seven recycled bottles per garment.
More than a million plastic bottles are sold every minute around the world
Research shows that more than a million plastic bottles are sold every minute around the world, and about 91% of them are still not recycled. All these non-recycled bottles end up in ocean waters. For this reason, healthcare professionals are turning more towards brands that make a difference and that overlap with their values, especially sustainability.