Innovation

Atayne uses 100% recycled polyester derived from plastic bottles and organic fabric to create apparel by eliminating toxic chemicals and known carcinogens through its process and production. All the materials used are third party certified for safety.

Atayne follows the Just-In-Time production process which is based in USA which allows them to make-to-order on demand. This model also eliminates usage of extra or unneeded raw materials as well as energy.

The inks used for printing are free of hormone-disrupting phthalates which are water-based. These endocrine chemicals are known to interfere with development and reproduction of the human body, and they may cause serious neurological and immune system effects which may not be noticed for a long period of time.

The main office of Atayne is located in Brunswick, Maine, United States. It's manufacturing and supply chain is carried out in different parts of the country and they're working towards getting it to all to Maine.

Atayne sells tops for women and men which are used primarily in sports such as running and cycling. It is planning to expand into athletic shorts and other types of apparel based on similar ideas of recycled material. It's main market is consumers who are into active wear required for sports although consumers buy the products for other reasons such as fashion or supporting similar causes as well.

They sell their products online through their website as well as at select retail stores. They also collaborate with and supply bulk orders to racing events or fundraisers to work with other businesses who are working towards the same cause.

They also have a take back program which uses the 3 R's rule - first you Reduce, then you Reuse, and finally you Recycle. Today, 85% of all textiles end up in a landfill. To help contribute in resolving this problem, they accept any brand of fully worn 100% polyester performance tops. Other materials which they receive are donated to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

Between eight and fourteen 20 oz. PET bottles are used for producing 1 Atayne top. PET bottles and containers (#1 Plastics) are a form of polyester. They can be recycled into a variety of different fabrics, including performance fabrics.

Inspiration

Jeremy Litchfield started Atayne due to a bad experience back in May 2007, when he found that there were dyes left on his body after a taking a run. The fact that there were chemicals being thrown out by the fabric being worn inspired him to create apparel for a healthier cause.

Jeremy quoted "A lot of people think that business has to be a zero sum game, which means if one person wins, another person loses. A lot of businesses take advantage of the environment or people to get economic gain. I strongly believe in ‘thrive ability’ where everyone can thrive together – environment and communities etc. My reason to do this is to really push the boundaries of how we operate and inspire people to make positive changes in the world. Whether it is inspiring another entrepreneur to do something differently or inspiring a customer to change what they have been doing which impacts the environment."

He continued saying "A few weeks ago, I was at a race and a collection around marriage equality and LGBT rights was worn by the runners. And after finishing the race, a young high school student came up and said ‘I love your shirt and thanks so much for doing all of this.’ It made me feel proud that we can be a voice for people and she felt supported through something she may not have control over. I want to see people being respectful of different opinions and acknowledge them instead of being polarizing."

Atayne has won various awards and been recognized for their high standards of environmental and social responsibility which gives them more motivation to build on this path they have chosen.

Overall impact

The active wear apparel in the industry consists of a lot of carcinogens and hormone disruptor's which are easily absorbed by the human body while doing any sort of exercise. These chemicals are also harmful to the environment. Jeremy said "The aim is to make products which are environmentally friendly and as safe as possible" to eliminate these problems. Most of the active apparel industry is into mass manufacturing which creates a lot of waste. Atayne seeks to eliminate waste by also recycling plastic bottles which are usually disposed into landfills. Jeremy said "By recycling plastic, we are creating a market towards these materials so they don’t end up in landfills. Also making recycled polyester takes much lesser energy than virgin polyester does. Virgin polyester is a petrochemical which is a by-product of petroleum, so to produce it high amounts of energy is required. Based on research, I think it takes about 75% less energy to produce recycled polyester compared to producing virgin polyester."

The bigger picture for Jeremy is to motivate, promote and work with the big name brands, who control most of the market, in using recycled materials for end products. Jeremy said "It’s really about the ripple effect. Sometimes you can’t measure the impact of everything you are doing. Hopefully as we can change people one by one, and as it starts to spread, people will want bigger companies to change due to expectations. Ultimately, these companies like Nike and Under Amour which are worth billions can make a huge impact by changing their operations after realizing that we have to shift towards creating a better world."

Business benefit

The business benefit of the entire operation which Atayne is undertaking is that they are drawing a very different consumer segment towards their products. This ever growing segment consists of people who are becoming more and more aware of the harm caused towards the environment by so many factors in this world and who are willing to sacrifice different aspects of their buying habits to create a positive change. Atayne's clothes not only do good for the environment but also do not harm the human body when worn, which is a big factor for more and more consumers today. Atayne is selling their products to races and even to events who are trying to spread awareness about societal and community factors such as marriage equality and LBGT rights. Atayne's ''cause collection'' clothes have messages printed across them supporting these causes as well. They are even consulting events on how to reduce environmental impact. They have been a profitable company since 3 years now.

Obviously, becoming a certified B-Corporation has also helped them gain more recognition since people are are starting to understand the credibility being given by a reliable independent source, especially with all the green-washing going on.

Jeremy strongly goes by the guideline that putting people and the planet first will automatically make business follow.

Using recycled polyester derived from plastics is more cost-effective than virgin polyester. Obviously, because it is recycled it ends up using lesser natural resources and lesser energy which is used while producing virgin polyester such as fossil fuels and also far fewer percentage of CO2 emission.

Social and environmental benefit

Atayne also donates to the community by offering 10% or more net profits to charity.

By 2012, Atayne had saved nearly 6.5 metric tons of plastic bottles from going into landfills, conserved about 94,000 kilowatt hours of energy, saved 25 metric tons of CO2 from being emitted and conserved 56,000 liters of water during their operations.

In alignment with the UN Global Goals, Atayne is contributing to goal number 12. They are in terms with working towards point no 12.2, 12.4 and 12.8.

While carrying out their primary business of making clothes through recycled material, Atayne also organizes "trash runs", consults with events on how to reduce their impact on the environment and has also initiated the take back program which reduces waste. Wherever possible, Atayne also tries to design its supply chain including transportation and distribution channels to create as less impact as it can. Atayne also focuses on on creating a positive work environment by promoting communication within, flexibility with jobs while abiding to employee health and safety standards.

Atayne has a lot of involvement with the local community in terms of raw material supply, community service and contributing to charity.

It also focuses on transparency of the companies mission, practices and policies while being as engaged with stakeholders as it can be in matters such as accountability.

Interview

Jeremy Litchfield, Founder