Unifi, US based yarn manufacturer with support from Century Synthetic Fiber Corporation which has become a licensed manufacturer of Repreve, to expand the production of its Repreve recycled fibre into Vietnam.

Repreve is Unifi's flagship brand of recycled fibres made from recycled materials, including plastic bottles. It is used by some of the world's leading apparel brands, including Patagonia, Haggar, and Quiksilver.

Synthetic FIber Corporation, headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is one of the largest polyester yarn manufacturers in Vietnam. The company will manufacture, sell and distribute Repreve filament yarn in Vietnam, and Unifi Textiles (Suzhou) Co (UTSC) – Unifi's subsidiary in China – will manage sales and distribution of Repreve filament yarn exported from Vietnam.

The aim is for the collaboration to open distribution channels for Repreve in the key South East Asia apparel-producing region, helping to fulfill increasing demand and shorten lead times to the company's customer base.

Currently, America and China are the two largest markets for revenues with the top five markets for Repreve being: apparel, commercial/home furnishings, automotive fabrics, socks/hosiery and footwear.

Tom Caudle, president of Unifi, Inc., said that Vietnam has been a region of focus for brands and retailers over the past few years. The growth in the region cannot be ignored, with exports of approximately US$27 billion of apparel and textiles in 2015, and expectations to grow to US$30 billion in 2016. Within the past 18 months, they have grown distribution of Repreve to include Turkey, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and now, Vietnam.

Jay Hertwig, vice president of global brand sales, marketing and product development for Unifi, added that this is a strategic position in growing the global supply chain for Repreve and will allow them to expand into other Premium Value Added (PVA) products in the near future.

Presence of Unifi in Vietnam will enable them to meet sourcing requests and increasing demand from their customers wherever they choose to do business.