New Waterproof Jacket Is Made From 21 Recycled Water Bottles

According to One Green Planet, Americans use 1,500 plastic water bottles every second. Yes, in the time it takes to read this sentence, Americans will have used 7,500 water bottles. Although most of these bottles can be recycled, they never biodegrade. Instead, they break down into smaller fragments which pollute our waterways, contaminate the soil, and make animals sick. Now, one sportswear company has found a unique way to recycle these pollutants: turning them into jackets.

Columbia Sportwear has created the world’s first eco-friendly waterproof alternative to traditional rain jackets. Rain jackets are traditionally made with synthetic compounds or perfluorinated compounds which have molecular bonds that are so tight, they repel water, instead of absorbing it. But, the problem is that these bonds are so strong the materials don’t biodegrade over time. But now, Columbia has created the a rain jacket that uses 100 percent recycled fabrics, including the plastic from discarded water bottles.

The jacket’s main fabric is made using 21 recycled plastic water bottles. Its trims and components are created with recycled materials as well. Even the tag is made with 100-percent post-consumer waste and printed with soy inks and a water-based finish. Although people are discarding water bottles at a rate that’ll never be reversed by turning them into jackets, Columbia’s new sports wear may pave the way for more fabrics that protect people from the elements while protecting the planet as well.

Note: GOOD was not, in any way, paid to promote this product. We just thought it was cool.