US Open water bottles will be repurposed

evian® water and Rothy's last week announced a new partnership to repurpose evian water bottles collected this September into a limited-edition, tennis-inspired capsule collection created by Rothy's. With a shared mission to keep plastic waste in the economy and out of nature, evian and Rothy's will transform evian bottles collected between Aug 30th and Sep 12th, 2021 from the largest tennis tournament in the world, hosted in NYC and which evian sponsors, into a first-of-its-kind capsule collection to be debuted during the height of tennis season in September 2022.

Each September nearly ten tons of plastic generated at this annual event is diverted away from landfills via recycling— this year, evian and Rothy's are committing to working together in finding their own circular solution for some of the diverted waste. Their goal is to give the evian bottles collected from the event a chic second life as part of a capsule collection of court-side essentials, made using Rothy's low waste, circular-focused manufacturing method. With an active lifestyle in mind, the lineup may include everything from gear to accessories.

The collected evian bottles will be blended with other recycled plastic bottles and then transformed into soft, washable thread, which Rothy's will then use to knit each item in the capsule collection to shape—leaving minimal waste behind. The design team is exploring everything from headwear to tennis bags, potentially testing into new categories for the brand.

As both evian and Rothy's pursue a closed-loop future, the partnership comes on the heels of both brands commitments to be circular by 2025 and 2023, respectively. Packaging allows evian to bring its spring water to consumers, preserving the uniqueness of evian natural spring water's quality – but the brand believes it shouldn't come at the expense of the environment. evian is certified carbon neutral and all bottles are fully recyclable1. Today, evian bottles contain an average of 40% rPET across the entire range, and the company is committed to making all its plastic bottles from 100% recycled plastic2 by 2025, adopting a 'circular approach' to plastic usage. The company was also officially certified as a B Corp™ this spring.

"evian offers natural, healthy hydration with sustainability at its core. As a Certified B Corp and carbon neutral brand, we are always looking for new ways to reduce our footprint even further. That's why we are thrilled to partner with Rothy's, a company that shares our commitment to circularity, to develop a capsule collection using recycled evian bottles for our consumers to enjoy," said Smeeta Khetarpaul, Marketing Director for evian US. "There is no better partner to bring something like this to life than the sustainability pioneers at Rothy's."

By designing with recycled materials, circularity is an inherent benefit baked into Rothy's business model. Rothy's builds every product in its wholly-owned workshop, using world-class knitting technology to create footwear and accessories—with nearly no waste. Furthering its mission, in March 2021 Rothy's announced its pledge to reach circular production by 2023, pioneering the shoe recycling technology to incorporate twice-recycled materials into new products. Investing in nature-based carbon reductions for every mile of shipping, Rothy's will also reach carbon neutrality by 2023.

"The Rothy's x evian partnership is a chance for our team to create a first-of-its-kind capsule collection and push the limits of Rothy's design and manufacturing capabilities. As Rothy's marches towards our ambition to achieve circular production, we're excited to be developing and scaling innovative recycling solutions. Circular design begins where another product's life might have ended, and we're looking forward to repurposing recycled evian bottles into beautiful, high-quality pieces." — Saskia van Gendt, Rothy's Head of Sustainability

More information on the partnership between evian and Rothy's will be announced in 2022.