AAPN member Unifi, the creators of the innovative REPREVE fiber that is becoming more and more commonplace - and keeping more plastic bottles out out of oceans and landfills as a result - has awarded a $10,000 grant to the University of California Berkeley, for its efforts to boost sustainability on campus.

The company, which is a PAC-12 sponsor, awarded the grant based on a video the students submitted as a part of the Pac-12 Zero Waste Challenge.

What stood out about UC's submission? “Cal’s video really stood out for its students’ and staff members’ tremendous efforts to raise awareness about the importance of a circular economy during the Zero Waste basketball game,” said Richard Gerstein, executive vice president – Unifi. “These students understand the importance ofprotecting our environment. We applaud them for going above and beyond to create exciting promotions at the game to show fans that products people enjoy every day are made when you close the loop on recycling.”

"Our mission is to foster a culture of Zero Waste on campus by becoming a world leader to advance the principles of the circular economy,"said Lin King, zero waste manager for UC Berkeley. "Winning the video competition is a perfect example of how we can all better promote, educate, and market our zero waste goals at all of the athletic venues"

The grant is part of Unifi’s official sponsorship of all Pac-12 Championship events. Unifi’s grant program provides an opportunity to each Pac-12 institution to receive a $5,000 annual grant award to promote campus zero waste activities and circular economy programs.