Innovation

From the Streets of Haiti and Honduras to the Clothes on Your Back

Photo credit: Jennifer Cowley / Flickr

Pittsburgh startup Thread recycles plastic bottles into the most responsible fabric on the planet

Pittsburgh startup ThreadTM is taking discarded plastic bottles from the streets, neighborhoods and canals of Haiti and Honduras and transforming them into the most responsibly made fabric on the planet.  Since 2012, the collection and transformation process moved more than 1.8 million pounds of waste from these two countries, and provided dignified jobs supporting more than 3,800 income opportunities for their residents.

Thread is committed to a carefully monitored, transparent fabric supply chain, from Ground to GoodTM.  Fabric is made in the United States with up to 100 percent recycled PET from plastic.  Each yard of Thread™ fabric is traced and tracked at every step of its journey, from bottle collection to fabric creation to the delivery of the fabric bolt to the manufacturer.

The Thread network provides jobs and income opportunities for nearly 3,800 people in the developing world, including roughly 1,400 bottle collectors, entrepreneurs and manufacturing employees in Haiti where the supply chain is based, and another 2,500 in Honduras. Beyond income, people benefit from valuable services such as job training, process improvements and micro-loan programs.

In June 2016, Thread announced a new partnership with outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland. The partnership – the largest to date for Thread – sarted bearing fruit in Spring 2017, with a collection of Timberland® footwear and bags made from Thread™ fabric.  In June 2017, HP announced was making HP ink cartridges with Thread’s recycled plastic.

Each product made with Thread™ fabric supports a vibrant network of dignified jobs in the developing world and the United States. See how at www.threadinternational.com or follow the Ground to Good™ story @threadintl .

Contact:       

Caroline Smith, Thread
434.251.7580
press@threadinternational.com