REPREVE® Kicks Off National Youth Recycling Campaign

GREENSBORO, N.C., Nov. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of America Recycles Day, Greensboro, N.C.-based Unifi, Inc. (NYSE: UFI) joined forces with Marvel Universe LIVE! to raise awareness about the importance of recycling in connection with its REPREVE® recycled fiber brand. This national initiative encourages children to take responsibility for recycling at home and in their everyday lives, teaching them that they can become super heroes for the environment. REPREVE and Marvel Universe LIVE! kicked off this multi-city initiative in Charlotte, N.C., teaming up with Charlotte–Mecklenburg Schools, the Boys and Girls Club of the greater Charlotte area and Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Division to host a city-wide recycling contest.

REPREVE turns recycled plastic bottles into cool products people wear and use every day, like Patagonia jackets, Beija-Flor jeans, Swiftwick socks, Dri-Release t-shirts, Life Khakis by Haggar and even Ford car interiors. The recycling contests are part of REPREVE's national #TurnItGreen movement, created to drive awareness about the importance of recycling and the products that can be made from plastic bottles. Additional recycling contests will be held in the coming months near Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of the greater Charlotte area and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools collected nearly 200,000 plastic bottles within the 10-day recycling challenge. After being recycled, the bottles collected could create enough REPREVE yarn to make 8,000 REPREVE-based Patagonia Jackets, 100,000 t-shirts or 25,000 pairs of pants. Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Division played a major role, ensuring that all bottles collected were recycled correctly.

"The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools that participated in the Marvel Universe LIVE! and REPREVE recycling challenge were enthusiastic, engaged, and most importantly, educated by this competition and initiative," said Wayne Fisher, science specialist and recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. "This entire campaign has certainly had a positive and significant impact on teachers, students and public awareness about how plastic makes its way through the waste stream and how it can be repurposed for different uses."

As a special reward to celebrate the #TurnItGreen recycling contest, performers from the Marvel Universe LIVE! show will participate in a live stunt, culminating in Captain America performing a 19-foot vertical motorcycle jump from ground to platform, known as the "Splatter Jump." This record-breaking jump is one of the most difficult stunts in the show, and will mark the first time the live stunt is leaving the arena and being performed outdoors at a local Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) site.

"At the Boys and Girls Club, we're committed to providing a safe place for youth to learn and grow, and we're excited to have REPREVE continue to educate children in Boys and Girls Clubs of America across the nation about what a big difference they can make just by recycling," said BGCA Vice President Frank Sanchez. "Marvel Universe LIVE! and REPREVE help the children of the BGCA feel like recycling super heroes."

Additionally, the Charlotte chapter of BGCA and the three participating schools with the greatest number of bottles collected received tickets to the opening night performance of Marvel Universe LIVE! on Nov. 14, at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. The show audience will see how REPREVE is helping turn Marvel Universe LIVE! green by recycling more than 10,000 plastic bottles into concourse signage and cast and crew apparel.

REPREVE and Marvel Universe LIVE! will continue to host recycling challenges across the country, teaming up with the local schools and chapters of BGCA in designated cities where Marvel Universe LIVE! will travel, showing kids and families around the nation that they can become super heroes for the environment by recycling.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Marvel Universe LIVE! website, www.marveluniverselive.com. To learn more about REPREVE and keep up with the #TurnItGreen initiative, visit www.REPREVE.com.

REPREVE and #TurnItGreen are trademarks of Unifi, Inc.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141112/158253

SOURCE Unifi, Inc.

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