Coke Launches Clothing Line Made from Plastic Bottles

By Kenneth Hein

April 15, BrandWeek

Forget polyester and rayon, the new hot fabric will be recycled plastic bottles if Coca-Cola has its way.

Coke is attempting to turn a negative into a positive. Saddled with complaints from environmentalists that its plastic bottles are clogging up landfills, the cola giant has come up with a unique solution: turning recycled bottles into "Drink 2 Wear" apparel.

This week, T-shirts that read, "Make your plastic fantastic" and "Rehash your trash" will appear at nearly 400 Wal-Mart stores as well as at Walmart.com. The shirts are retailing for about $7.50.

"These fun T-shirts merge trend with consciousness, reminding shoppers that small steps like recycling a few bottles can go a long way towards helping preserve our environment," said Stuart Kronauge, vp-marketing at Coca-Cola North America, in a statement. "If the 200 million Wal-Mart shoppers in the U.S. purchase these shirts, they will help us reuse and divert more than 700 million bottles from the waste stream."

TV, radio and print ads from Wal-Mart's agency, the Martin Agency, Richmond, Va., tout the availability of T-shirts.

Read more this news quote

photo by BrandWeek