SWOT: Recycled Edition

A SWOT analysis on the REPREVE® brand by Unifi Inc.

There aren’t many textile companies like Unifi Inc., a company that creates multifilament yarns from recycled plastic bottles and sells them to leading apparel and textile manufacturers. Under the brand name REPREVE®, the company provides sustainable and environmental value for partners such as Patagonia, Adidas, and New Balance. A S.W.O.T. analysis of the REPREVE® brand can can be used to identify it’s strengths, weaknesses, and overall positioning of the brand in the fiber market.

Strengths

The company offers a unique approach to polyester manufacturing, giving them a leg up on yarn producers who do not use recycled material. The younger “hipper” REPREVE® brand seems to stand alone among Unifi Inc.’s traditional yarn producing competitors. While REPREVE® has been around for years, the brand has focused on consumer awareness very recently. By giving more information about their sustainable technology to consumers of the final product, they gain awareness and relevancy in the market. Additionally, most textile yarn producers don’t have a modern branding presence, especially not one that is complete with social media and digital marketing.

Weaknesses

The REPREVE® brand is automatically at a branding disadvantage because they don’t sell any products directly to consumers. It’s difficult to compete with brands who sell physical products because it’s harder to make a connection with a consumer using only an idea. In addition, Unifi Inc. has been facing challenges collecting enough raw materials. Not enough people are recycling plastic bottles and other PET based recyclables. Another weakness of the REPREVE® brand is the lack of engagement in the brand. It’s difficult for consumers to engage with the brand as there is little direct contact from the brand to consumers and vice versa. To create a dialog, the brand needs to create incentives to comment, like, or purchase merchandise made with REPEREVE fibers.

Opportunities

By marketing on popular platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, the brand can help to overcome this challenge. With a large enough marketing presence, the existence of the REPREVE® brand can educate consumers on the importance and usefulness of recycling. The #turnitgreen tour that started in early 2016 was “a multistop, national recycling education tour as the next phase of the REPREVE® #TurnItGreen campaign”. Partners included large name brands such as Marvel Universe Live!, Detroit Lions and UNC-Chapel Hill. Depending on the overall effectiveness of this mobile tour, it may be beneficial to continue hosting tours like this for a larger brand presence and to educate consumers on how they can make an impact by recycling. Any direct to consumer contact, whether in person or online, will be extremely beneficial for Unifi Inc., REPREVE®, and the sustainable fiber cause.

Beth Stewart, CEO of Redress Raleigh, believes that the key for a companies to stay true to ethical and sustainable core values is to provide solid communication and transparency. She mentioned Patagonia as a company that is both educating consumers as well as having high expectations for their partners, and it seems as though that working with large companies like this, REPREVE® can boost their branding presence even further while staying transparent with the final consumer. This transparency is an increasingly popular opportunity for the brand.

Threats

While the creation of recycled polyester fibers is still new and exciting, there are other companies that have been able to harness this technology. An increasing number of textile manufacturers are working towards sustainable methods and this is an ongoing threat for Unifi Inc. and the REPREVE® brand. In order to stay at the top of the market with this technology, the company needs to push their strong branding presence and co-branding opportunities, as well as their transparency.