MANUFACTURING
Threads 4 Thought: Activewear Made Out of Plastic Bottles
Sales for women’s activewear are skyrocketing. The market for clothes made for yoga, running and the gym grew 21 percent to become an $18.5 billion business in the 12-month period ending in June 2015, according to market-research company The NPD Group.
But most of the clothes sold for this market are made out of nylon. Eric Fleet, president of the fashion company Threads 4 Thought, contends that the fabric is not good for the environment because nylon is manufactured from petroleum products and made in a way he says pollutes the environment. Enter Threads 4 Thought Active. “We wanted to provide an alternative to all of the nylon that is out there,” Fleet said.
Threads 4 Thought got into the activewear market by making clothes manufactured from polyester made from recycled plastic bottles; 37 bottles are recycled to make one of Threads 4 Thoughts’ leggings and 19 bottles for a sports bra, according to a company statement.
Ashley Irey, a former design director for Splendid, joined Threads 4 Thought in 2014 as its women’s design director. She runs the company’s downtown Los Angeles design office and has led Threads 4 Thoughts’ active line.
Along with being constructed out of plastic bottles, the line has fashion flair, too, Fleet said. Fashion looks include a tuxedo-style stripe down the side of the leggings. Some of the tuxedo stripes are made of a mesh that makes leggings more breathable. Others feature patterns such as camouflage.
The two core pieces of the line are a ¾ legging called the “Half Lotus Crop” and a full-length piece called the “Firefly Legging.” These pieces come in black and heather gray.
But with Threads 4 Thought making new deliveries every 60 days, Fleet said, the leggings always come in new prints and designs.
Other pieces in the line are jackets, tank tops and T-shirts. Wholesale price points range from $15 to $40. Threads 4 Thought also makes graphic tees for women and some men’s looks designed in its New York City office.
Threads 4 Thought Active took a bow for the Spring 2014 season. It has been sold at select Whole Foods locations; at Seed People’s Market in Costa Mesa, Calif.; and through direct sales at the company’s website (www.threadsforthought.com).
For more information, contact Ashley Segal, the company’s vice president of sales, at ashsegal@t4tapparel.com. For women's West Coast sales, contact Liza Stewart Inc., at sales@lizastewart.com.
