Active Wear With A Healthy Point Of View

What do you wear when you go for a run? For many people, time exercising is time spent outdoors, enjoying the sun and appreciating the environment. Many exercise clothes however, contain chemicals and materials that are harmful to the very environment you’re trying to enjoy. In order to make active wear long-lasting and stain-resistant, it is often treated or coated with harmful chemicals like PFCs and antimicrobials. These chemicals are harmful to both humans and the environment; PFCs contribute to cancer risk and thyroid disease in consumers and factory workers, while antimicrobials contribute to antibiotic resistance, and rinse off of fabrics to contaminate the environment through waterways. Is it possible to create truly sustainable and high-performance workout clothing?

This is Atayne’s mission. It all started in 2007 after founder Jeremy Litchfield was covered in red dye from his brand-new T-shirt. He decided to make a new kind of active wear company with a healthy point of view. Atayne’s clothing is made from 100% recycled and organic materials. The polyester they use is made from recycled bottles, saving energy, conserving water, and reducing landfills. They also make sure not to use any harmful chemicals in any of their clothes, including the ink used to create the T-shirts prints. Furthermore, Atayne makes its supply chain more sustainable by sourcing and manufacturing their products locally. They have even started a recycling program to collect used active wear and reuse as much fabric as possible before recycling the rest.

As a result of these efforts, in 2012 Atayne saved 6.5 metric tons of plastic bottles from landfills, conserved 94,000 kW hours of electricity, avoided emitting 25 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, and conserved 56,000 liters of water. Atayne has been recognized for its work by B Corporation, which placed it in the top 10% for environmental companies in 2014. Litchfield has stated that Attayne’s mission, “is not to be the biggest. It is to be the best for people and the planet.” What does your sports gear do for the environment?

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