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Cintas Converts Plastic Bottles into Apparel

Uses enough bottles to go from Las Vegas to New York City

CINCINNATI — Through annual sales of eco-friendly apparel collections, which use plant-based ingredients and plastic bottles to create fibers, Cintas Corp. diverted more than 19.5 million 16.9-ounce plastic bottles from landfills last year—the equivalent of placing those bottles end-to-end from Las Vegas to New York City.

In addition to its eco-apparel collections with recycled polyester, Cintas says it also saves energy through the use of Dupont™ Sorona® fabric, which is utilized in its AR Red™ and Jay Godfrey™ premium suiting collections. DuPont™ Sorona is an eco-friendly, plant-based fiber made with renewable, naturally occurring starch.

The production of this fabric uses 30% less energy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions use in the manufacturing process by as much as 63%, according to the company. In 2014, the sales of the two collections saved the equivalent of 1,188 gallons of gas, or 28 barrels of gasoline.

By utilizing recycled or plant-based fibers in apparel programs in 2014, Cintas customers helped save the energy equivalent to:

  • Powering a laptop for more than 6 million workdays.
  • Lighting an average-sized building for more than 43 years.
  • Powering an air conditioner for 222 years.

In addition to sustainable apparel, Cintas operates industrial laundries that, according to the company, offer the following annual environmental savings when compared to a home laundry:

  • A 50% water savings, or the equivalent of filling 1,329 Olympic-sized pools.
  • A 66% energy reduction, or enough electricity to heat 7,443 homes.
  • An 80% soap reduction, or the equivalent of 10 million containers of home detergent.
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(Photo: Cintas Corporation)

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