The award honours Mara Hoffman's contributions to sustainable fashion. © Heather Hazzan

Mara Hoffman has received the Repreve Champions of Sustainability Leading the Change Award at an exclusive New York Fashion Week (NYFW) reception yesterday, hosted by global textile solutions provider Unifi. The Leading the Change Award recognises Mara Hoffman's long-time commitment to reducing environmental impact through conscious fashion.

The brand will be recognised as a sustainability advocate and for its part in helping Unifi recycle 14 billion bottles, by using Repreve. Many of Mara Hoffman's bestselling swimwear pieces are made with Repreve, which helps divert bottles from ending up on our land or in our oceans. The brand hopes to make consumers more mindful and to evolve the relationship society has with clothing.

Mara Hoffman is known for its unique and focused commitment to sustainability. Realising the impact the fashion industry has on the environment, the brand has implemented a strategy to drive effective change since 2015 with initiatives ranging from shipping its swimwear in compostable packaging, incorporating recycled, organic and responsibly sourced fabrics and researching ways to lessen the brand's environmental footprint.

“Mara Hoffman exemplifies integrating sustainability and innovation for the good of tomorrow,” said Helen Sahi, Vice President of Global Corporate Sustainability, Unifi. “The Mara Hoffman brand perfectly represents what the fashion industry can achieve when it pairs visionary leadership with sustainable materials that perform at the highest level with reduced environmental impact. We congratulate Mara Hoffman and applaud their continued commitment to be an advocate, partner and ultimately, a leader in this effort.”

Commitment to sustainable fashion

The brand introduced Repreve fibre into its swimwear, beginning with the Resort 2017 collection, as an additional part of the brand's commitment to sustainable fashion. The process to make Repreve transforms recycled plastic bottles into sustainable, performance fibre, offsetting the use of new petroleum, emitting fewer greenhouse gases and conserving water and energy in the process. Mara Hoffman currently uses Repreve in all of its textured swimwear.

“It's encouraging to know sustainable practices are being celebrated by our industry partners,” said Mara Hoffman, President and Creative Director. “When we began our sustainable journey four years ago, we did so with the goal to generate awareness about the industry’s impact on the planet and subsequently to design and manufacture our garments with greater care. We’re honoured to be receiving this award, which continues to drive awareness, and look forward to continued progress in the apparel industry.”

Leading the Change Award

The Leading the Change Award is part of Repreve’s second annual Champions of Sustainability Awards, which recognised a total of 68 brand, retail and textile partners. Unifi created the Repreve Champions of Sustainability Awards to recognise the company's brand and textile partners that have achieved plastic bottle recycling milestones by using Repreve performance fibres. By creating these awards, Unifi hopes to inspire designers, customers and consumers to continue to invest in sustainability.

“Together, we can make everyday life better by transforming recycled plastic bottles into the products consumers use every day,” added Ms Sahi. “Together, we can make a better today for the good of tomorrow.”

With its partners, Unifi has currently recycled over 14 billion bottles and is on track to recycle 20 billion bottles by 2020 and 30 billion by 2022.

www.unifi.com