Why Recycled?
When we thought about what we wanted to accomplish with Mill & Mountain, using organic materials and keeping things made in the USA were key – but we also wanted to help support the market for recycled materials as well. That’s why we're so excited to be able to include recycled fibers in our pants and hats, plus recycled metal in our belt buckles. We’re going to continue to look for opportunities to include recycled materials wherever possible. (And we do have some awesome shirts and other items made with US-raised merino wool & recycled polyester on the way!!)
The recycled fiber in our Nobody But You pants is REPREVE recycled polyester that is produced in the United States from plastic bottles. Each pair contains about 12 soda bottles (!) ... which is only a tiny fraction of the billions of plastic bottles they're recycled over the past 14 years. Still, it's a part!
The recycled polyester fiber in our pants is processed in a multi-step process from erstwhile trash to thread that includes (1) collecting the material that would otherwise go to a landfill, (2) thoroughly washing it, (3) turning it into pulverized plastic chips, (4) melting it to make plastic pellets, and then (5) using those plastic pellets to produce the fibers. You can read them more about REPREVE here. (It’s super cool, definitely check out the videos.)
We’re also really excited to be listed by REPREVE with along with other brands that are also using REPREVE thread in their products. If you’re known by the company you keep, that’s great company to be in!
The pewter buckle in our Scrappy Belt is also made from part-recycled material by a jeweler in New England. He casts the pewter buckles in a mold using molten metal. It’s really awesome, we think, that we're using materials that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill.
We’re going to keep looking for every opportunity we can to incorporate recycled materials into our products. When we make stuff from recycled materials – and when you buy these things – it helps to keep waste out of the landfill, makes the best possible use of natural resources, and protects the environment for future generations. Thank you for your support!