Recover brand is clothing that’s both environmental, and socially responsible. Even if those things aren’t important to you, there are other reasons you should give them a look. If comfort and cool graphics mean something, they’ve got that covered too. They were kind enough to send us a few samples earlier this year. After some time wearing their shirts, we’re eager to share the brand with our readers.
First off, they have a pretty cool process for making their garments. It starts with 8 recycled plastic bottles per shirt. They also collect new cotton scraps from the textile industry. A logical next step was to sort the scraps (and the bottles) by color, then blend it with polyester. This fiber gets spun into yarn which is then knitted into fabric. From there, the fabric is cut and sewn into a shirt or hoodie.
Of course, because the bottles and cotton are sorted by color, there is no need to dye the fabric. I’m pretty sure my green sample shirt was once 16 liters of 7UP bottles. Benefits to the process are pretty clear. How about 35% less greenhouse gases? Or a 66% reduction in energy used, compared to “the old way” of doing things? Finally, 55% less water is used. So there are some real gains here.
As for the social responsibility part, they have that covered too. The finished fabric is shipped from North Carolina, to Haiti. High quality garments are produced by workers paid a living wage there. Another facility exists in Guatemala as well. Each partnership with a co-op overseas was created to help lift workers out of poverty by offering sustainable jobs. Don’t confuse this with sweatshops that are not environmentally sound. Recover works to ensure good wages, and best practices. It’s a win/win for the workers, the environment, and us.
All that would mean nothing is the garments didn’t look good and feel great. Recover made sure of that as well. Not only were our review shirts soft to the touch, but they felt durable. That’s another key to being “green” – products that last. Besides that, they have cool styles. Long sleeves, shorts sleeves, polos, prints, hoodies, and cuts specifically for women. As far as sizing, none of that silly size up or down. Order what you normally wear, the fit is spot on.
Want more? Recover has other products following their green ethos. Tablet covers and beer coozies made from recycled wet suits. Or a bike tube backpack. Even a cap lifter made from furniture company wood scraps. Plus they have Recover branded coffee mugs, canteens, coffee roasted in North Carolina (Dear Santa…), and hats. There’s probably something for everyone.
After wearing their shirt for a while, I’ve noticed something. People ask about the logo on my shirt (shown above). That starts a conversation about Recover, and not just the products. We talk about the green efforts, and the sustainable jobs. And about how they are making a difference. For me, that’s huge. Because I don’t want people to buy the clothing just to buy the clothing. I hope they’re buying the clothing because they understand the whole mission behind it. Recover is making a difference, one shirt or hoodie at a time. recoverbrands.com
Brian
I’d like to thank Recover Brands for providing a few shirts for us to try out. And we appreciate what they do.