Repreve Recycled Polyester
The Fabric
Chosen for the work.
Leggings, shorts and sports bras have a harder job than anything else we make. This is the fibre we picked to do it, and what we can prove about where it came from.
Choosing the fibre
The right fibre for the job.
A pair of leggings has to hold its shape under load, stay opaque through a squat and survive a few hundred washes without bobbling or going baggy at the ankle. That is not work for a soft cellulose fibre. It needs a synthetic with structure and recovery.
Ours is Repreve, a polyester spun by Unifi from post consumer plastic bottles. The bottles are collected, cleaned and turned back into filament yarn rather than new petroleum being drilled to make it.
Where the fabric sits soft against the skin for hours instead, in a tank, a crop or a brief, we use TENCEL™ Lyocell. Neither is a compromise. They are answers to different questions.
“No front seam, high waisted, compressive fit without being too tight on the waistband for all day comfort, fabric that doesn’t bobble or turn see through and absolutely no baggy ankles.”
Founder’s note, the Proformance Leggings
On the body
What the fibre actually does.
Recycled polyester performs the same as virgin polyester, because chemically it is the same fibre. What it gives you is structure.
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Shape
Polyester filament recovers after it is stretched, which is what stops leggings bagging at the knee and a waistband rolling down mid session. Paired with elastane, that recovery is what holds the fit.
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Opacity
A 285 gsm knit is dense enough to stay opaque under load. We test for it, because there is no point in a legging you have to think about.
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Durability
Polyester resists abrasion and repeated washing better than almost anything else you could knit this fabric from. The longer a garment lasts, the less the question of what it is made from matters.
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Drying
Polyester absorbs very little moisture into the fibre itself, so sweat moves along the surface and the fabric dries quickly. It is the opposite mechanism to Tencel, and the right one for hard training.
How it is made
From bottle to yarn, with a tracer in it.
The hard part of recycled content is not making it. It is proving it. Every strand of Repreve carries FiberPrint, a tracer Unifi embeds at the fibre stage, so recycled content can be verified in the finished fabric rather than taken on trust.
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Bottles
Post consumer plastic bottles are collected and sorted.
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Flake
They are washed and chopped into flake, then melted down.
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Yarn
Extruded into filament yarn, with the FiberPrint tracer added.
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Fabric
Knitted with elastane for stretch and recovery, then cut and sewn.
The proof
Traceable, not just claimed.
Recycled content is easy to assert and hard to check, which is why we buy a branded fibre rather than unbranded recycled polyester. The verifications below are held by Unifi, the producer, and apply to the Repreve fibre.
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FiberPrint and U TRUST
A proprietary tracer embedded in every strand, allowing recycled content to be verified from resin to yarn to finished fabric.
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Global Recycled Standard
Tracks recycled content through the supply chain and sets environmental and social criteria for production.
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SCS Global Services
Independently audits Repreve products and operations each year to verify the recycled content claimed.
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Oeko-Tex Standard 100
Confirms the yarns are free of harmful levels of more than one hundred restricted substances.
Unifi reports having transformed more than 40 billion plastic bottles into Repreve fibre to date.
In the range
Where we use it.
Everything that has to hold its shape under load.
- Proformance High Waist Leggings84% Repreve Polyester / 16% Spandex
- Proformance High Waist Mesh Leggings84% Repreve Polyester / 16% Spandex
- Proformance High Waist Shorts84% Repreve Polyester / 16% Spandex
- Proformance Mesh Sports Bra84% Repreve Polyester / 16% Spandex
- Proformance Cross Back Sports Bra84% Repreve Polyester / 16% Spandex
- Precision High Neck Sports Bra84% Repreve Polyester / 16% Spandex
- Aura Mesh Sports Bra94% Repreve Polyester / 6% Spandex
And where we do not.
Anything worn soft against the skin for hours runs on Tencel Lyocell instead, a fibre made from eucalyptus wood. That covers the Precision Tank, the Precision Brief, the Aura Long Sleeve Crop and the Merino T. Different job, different fibre.
Read the Tencel storyQuestions
The things people ask us.
Is recycled polyester actually better, or is it just marketing?
It is better in a specific and limited way. It diverts plastic that already exists and avoids drilling new petroleum to make the same fibre. It does not solve the rest. Recycled polyester is still a synthetic, it does not biodegrade, and like all synthetics it sheds microfibres in the wash. A wash bag or a filter helps with that. We think it is the right trade for garments that have to survive hundreds of wears, and we use a cellulose fibre wherever the job allows it.
Should I choose Repreve or Tencel?
It depends on the piece rather than on which fibre is better. Repreve is built for structure and durability, which is what leggings, shorts and sports bras need. Tencel is built for next to skin comfort, which is what tanks, crops and briefs need. Most people end up owning both.
How do I know the recycled content is real?
Because it can be tested. Unifi embeds a tracer called FiberPrint into every strand of Repreve at the fibre stage, so the recycled content can be verified in the finished fabric rather than relying on paperwork alone. That is the main reason we buy a branded recycled polyester instead of a generic one.
Why is there elastane in it?
Because recovery is the whole point. Polyester on its own stretches but does not spring back quickly enough for a compressive fit. The elastane is what stops the waistband rolling and the knees bagging. It also means the fabric is a blend, which makes it harder to recycle again at end of life. That is a real trade off and we would rather say so.
How should I wash it?
Cool wash and line dry. Do not dry clean. Cool washing protects the elastane, keeps the colour, and sheds fewer microfibres than a hot cycle.
Where is it made?
Our Proformance garments are made in China. The fibre is produced by Unifi. Further detail on our manufacturing partners is available on request.
Fibre origin, tracer technology and certifications as published by Unifi, Inc., the producer of REPREVE®. All verifications listed apply to the REPREVE® fibre rather than to finished PRO | ORA garments. REPREVE®, FiberPrint® and U TRUST® are trademarks of Unifi, Inc. Anti odour, water repellency and moisture wicking are separate finishes and are not properties of the Repreve fibre itself.