Champion Launches a New Sustainable Line Using Recycled Fabric

Athletic-wear giant Champion just announced that it is partnering with The Renewal Workshop to debut its Champion Renewed range – a new clothing line that will recycle fabrics headed to the landfill. The clothing brand plans to renew disposed of clothing to promote sustainability practices within the fashion and clothing industries, but also more specifically within its own supply chain. The partnership and resulting clothing range play a role in Champion’s overall Champion MADE sustainability effort, which the company launched to reduce waste and extend apparel use.

“The Champion brand is committed to making significant strides toward social and environmental leadership, and our partnership with The Renewal Workshop is an important step in this process,” Group President of Global Activewear for HanesBrands Jon Ram said. “We are proud to extend the life of apparel that would have otherwise ended up in landfills. We look forward to expanding these efforts beyond Champion’s Reverse Weave sweatshirts to other products that our consumers love.”

The new Champion Renewed line will feature the brand’s signature Reverse Weave sweatshirts, renewed by The Renewal Workshops. The collection will be available on August 31 from between $30 to $45. The accessible and affordable line of clothes will boast sustainable practices, presenting an example to the entire clothing industry.

The company’s Champion MADE initiative aims to maintain the brand’s comfort and style while increasing its environmental consciousness. The internal campaign is a promise to consumers that the company is working to better its production facilities and eventually lower its carbon footprint. The campaign was launched as an effort to take responsibility for the fabrics that have been purchased and subsequently thrown out.

Champion’s parent company HanesBrands released a set of sustainability goals earlier this year, projecting that all of its brands would incorporate a fully or substantially circularity initiative by 2025. With Champion’s new range, the company is supporting HanesBrands’ company-wide sustainability efforts. The partnership with The Renewal Workshop helps put this recycling strategy into the spotlight.

“We’re thrilled to have Champion join our growing list of brands, and we’re eager to support the brand in its larger efforts to salvage apparel, giving clothing a chance for a second life," Co-founder of The Renewal Workshop.  Nicole Bassett said. "By having a brand as iconic as Champion begin the process with us, we’re encouraged that others within the industry will soon follow suit."

The Renewal Workshop determines the longevity and the environmental impact of each textile used to make clothing by using the Life Cycle Assessment Methodology. The practice allows for the environment-conscious organization to record the energy savings, greenhouse gas reductions, and water consumption decreases of each convention garment including cotton, polyester, and wool for each item that is restored and recycled.

Beyond the new Champion Renewed Line, the clothing brand is making significant moves to reduce its waste and minimize its carbon footprint. Recently, Champion revealed its classic jersey tees with some of the most responsibly sourced fiber in the world. The company also debuted two environmentally conscious collections before this with the Natural State and Rally Pro Earth in 2021 as well as the Game Day sweats that uses 95 percent recycled polyester fiber.

“We are dedicated to helping protect the planet by creating best-in-class sustainable products,” Director Champion Global Brand Marketing David Robertson said in April. “The launch of Natural State and Rally Pro Earth are only the beginning of what we have in the works to protect the place we all call home. All Champion products can be washed in cold water, which reduces energy and water usage, and our Powerblend sweats are made with a portion of recycled polyester fibers. And I’m very proud of the fact that by 2025, as part of the HanesBrands family, Champion will use 100 percent recycled polyester and 100% sustainable cotton in all of its apparel, achieve zero waste across operations and reduce the absolute weight of packaging materials used for products by 25 percent.”