Customers who buy the new 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid or Focus Electric can automatically give back to eco-charities while helping save fuel and landfill-destined plastic water bottles.

Through the REPREVE® Gives Back program, a portion of REPREVE sales are donated to one of four environmental nonprofit organizations. The charitable program is offered by Unifi Inc. (NYSE: UFI), supplier of the REPREVE-branded recycled fiber being used in the seat fabric of the new Fusion hybrids and 2012 Focus Electric.

"REPREVE Gives Back is a natural fit for Fusion hybrid customers who already are contributing to a better world by saving fuel while driving and keeping water bottles from landfills," said Carol Kordich, Ford's lead designer of sustainable materials. "Ford is committed to delivering vehicles with leading fuel efficiency while targeting at least 25 percent recycled content in seat fabric across our lineup."

The four environmental nonprofits that customers can designate are:

• Keep America Beautiful – creates a cleaner, greener America, from national parks to community gardens and everywhere in between

• Conservation Alliance – protects North America's last wild places by supporting conservation work at the local level

• American Rivers – protects and restores America's rivers and the full variety of life they sustain

• Rocky Mountain Institute – an organization working to accelerate the profitable transition from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables

Through the REPREVE Gives Back program, Ford customers and supporters can help determine how the funds will be distributed among the four nonprofits. To vote, customers must "like" REPREVE on Facebook and click the "Gives Back" tab to get a passcode. At www.repreve.com, customers can vote for their favorite environmental cause and learn more about the authentic recycled fiber of choice, REPREVE.

"We are excited to continue to work with Ford on integrating the REPREVE product into new vehicles, like the Fusion. It is important to align with companies that share the same vision and strategy around recycling. A core part of the REPREVE brand is generating awareness around the importance of recycling, helping to increase the U.S. recycling rates and giving back through our REPREVE Gives Back program," said Roger Berrier, president and COO of Unifi. "Unifi's REPREVE Gives Back program helps to create the consumer connection between recycling and environmental sustainability."

REPREVE is made from a hybrid blend of post-industrial and post-consumer waste. Each Focus Electric seating interior contains the equivalent of about 22 recycled plastic bottles made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) – the technical name of the plastic of which the bottles are made – while Fusion hybrids feature nearly 42.

In addition to recycling waste that otherwise could have ended up in landfills, REPREVE reduces energy consumption by offsetting the need to use newly refined crude oil. REPREVE fiber meets all Ford design and comfort requirements to help ensure the Fusion hybrids and Focus Electric meet the company's high performance standards.

Unifi and Ford also are working together to set up plastic bottle collection points within Ford facilities in Michigan and California – bottles that could be part of the more than 2 million plastic bottles that will be recycled into REPREVE for fabrics in the Fusion and Focus Electric in their first model years.

Eco-conscious solutions

Ford's "reduce, reuse and recycle" commitment is part of the company's broader global sustainability strategy to reduce its environmental footprint while at the same time accelerating the development of advanced, fuel-efficient vehicle technologies around the world.

Over the past several years, Ford has concentrated on increasing the use of nonmetal recycled and bio-based materials whenever possible, provided these materials are environmentally favorable in the specific application. Examples include soy foam seat cushions and head restraints, wheat straw-filled plastic, castor oil foam in instrument panels, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers and natural-fiber plastic for interior components.

In addition to Ford, REPREVE can be found throughout many products made by some of the leading brands and retailers, including Polartec, Life Khaki, The North Face, Patagonia and Blue Avocado. Learn more at www.repreve.com and follow REPREVE on Facebook.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 166,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.

REPREVE is a registered trademark of Unifi, Inc.

You may also want to read one of our previous textile news articles about Unifi.  The article was about Unifi opening the Repreve recycling center for recycling polyester waste.  Also, did you know that Herff Jones choose Repreve for graduation gowns recently.