It all started with a red shirt. Atayne founder Jeremy Litchfield went for a run in his new, red, performance sports wear top and came back covered in toxic red dye from head to toe. Jeremy decided then and there to turn that bad experience into a company dedicated to using active lifestyles to inspire positive social and environmental change.
Atayne set out to make performance sports wear made from recycled trash. The first t-shirt line was made of recycled polyester coming from plastic bottles and other polyester clothes. The Company now uses additional recycled materials such as recycled cotton, activated carbon fiber from Cocona and Chitosan. Chitosan is a fiber derived from snow crab shells that contains natural anti-microbial agents.
In addition to making environmentally friendly performance sports wear, the Atayne team organizes trash runs at races across the country, consults with events on how to reduce their impact and became a Certified B Corporation to ensure they act for the benefit of their employees and shareholders as well as society and the environment.
Atayne plans to eventually offer a full line of performance sports wear made exclusively from recycled materials. The full line will include men's and women's cycling tops, tread light shorts, women's dirt skirts and sports bras. You can buy the latest Atayne gear from the Company's online store.
The real question for a relatively new brand such as Atayne is will the Company be able to survive off of the recycled material vision alone? Or will consumers simply go to Marmot, Patagonia and other big name brands as and when they adopt Cocona and recycled polyester fabrics? Are these smaller companies needed to push the entire industry to become more green? Would love to hear your thoughts!