The great underwear crisis

The story begins with a global underwear crisis.

As the footage rolls, we learn that countless pieces of old, hole-riddled, used-up underwear the world over are choking landfills and birds alike. What the world needs is a savior, and our hero arrives in the form of Agent Timmy, protector of natural resources and passionate panty recycler.

This is the premise of the Mission Recycle Video, a seven-and-a-half-minute film that takes a comic stab at a very real concern, as well as Patagonia Inc.’s attempt to get the word out about a clothing recycling program that began two years ago.

“Patagonia doesn’t do a lot of advertising, so we wanted to find a way to get the word out about the program,” says Jen Rapp, director of public relations for Patagonia, Inc., from Patagonia’s people- and Earth-friendly headquarters near downtown Ventura. “The program has been successful despite the lack of commercial advertising, but we wanted to get the word out even more.”

Clothing reincarnated

Patagonia’s Common Threads Recycling Program began in 2005, when the company requested that customers return used Capilene clothing — namely, long underwear — to the company for subsequent recycling. But, in an effort to take its recycling mission two steps farther, Patagonia announced in late January that it’s including Polartec-brand garments from Patagonia and any other company, as well as cotton Patagonia T-shirts, in its recycling mix.

“Back when we launched the program, we encouraged our competitors to get on board, but very few did,” says Rapp, of the company’s decision to include all Polartec fleece in its grand recycling plan. “We thought, ‘Why not do more of them?’ ”

As Polartec fleece is a popular product, there’s no telling just how much difference including the fabric in Patagonia’s recycling program will make, but the sky’s the limit. “I guarantee that tons of people have some type of Polartec fleece in their closets,” Rapp says, “and I bet everyone in Ventura has an old Patagonia cotton T-shirt that they got at Real Cheap Sports that is just dying to be recycled.”

It’s worth noting that outlets such as L.L. Bean, North Face and others carry Polartec fleece.

“Our goal is to assume full responsibility for our products, as well as our competitors’ products, at the end of their useful life,” says Casey Sheahan, president and chief executive officer of Patagonia. “We hope to expand the world view of recycling beyond just aluminum cans, newspapers and bottles; we’re aiming to make clothing a recyclable resource.”

According to Rapp, Patagonia sells roughly 3 million units of Capilene underwear annually, “so we thought it would be a good product to start with,” in terms of recycling.

As Capilene duds are 100 percent polyester, they are derived from oil. And as the world’s oil resources dwindle and become more expensive, the need to rely less on existing resources is one of the major tasks at hand. “It was a product we wanted to be able to recycle so we would not have to rely on virgin oil sources,” Rapp says. “As the cost of oil rises, the cost of making garments will increase, and we’ll have to charge more. From a business perspective, it’s good to be your own supply line and not have to rely on other sources.”

Agent Timmy saves your undies

Thus far, Patagonia has collected about 1,500 pounds of used Capilene at its U.S. retail stores and service center in Reno, Nev. “Anything’s good, but it hasn’t made a big dent yet,” says Rapp of Capilene recycling, adding that the powers-that-be at Patagonia hope that the Mission Recycle Video will infuse the Common Threads Recycling Program with renewed passion.

As the video unfolds, Agent Timmy, portrayed by world-renowned, “outrageous” rock climber Timmy O’Neill, is tasked with traveling to Japan to convince the Japanese to recycle their underwear. (O’Neill, known for his comedic talents as well as his rock climbing skill, set a speed record — along with fellow climber Dean Potter — in 2001 for his ascent of Yosemite National Park’s majestic El Capitan, which the pair climbed in three hours and 24 minutes.)

Because the clothing is recycled at Teijin Fibers Limited, a Japanese fabric manufacturer that has supplied Patagonia for about 15 years, it only makes sense that Agent Timmy would travel to the place where all the magic happens. In addition to developing the Ecocircle recycling system used for the Common Threads Recycling Program, Teijin also supplies Patagonia with recycled-filament polyester fabrics, according to Patagonia.

When Agent Timmy arrives at Teijin, he is told by a group of very depressed Japanese people that “Things are very bad” because the company has “… no underwear to recycle.”

Hilarity ensues as viewers are treated to a catchy tune called “Underwear is Everywhere,” as Agent Timmy hits the streets to convince the Japanese to recycle their undies. Armed with an English/Japanese dictionary, Agent Timmy wanders about in his superhero costume, failing miserably as he strives to “blend in” with the Japanese.

His journey lands him in various spots, including a public park and a noodle house but he fails at every turn. Agent Timmy is desperate for success when he sees a pair of hole-filled underwear creeping out of the back of a passerby’s jeans. When he attempts to grab the old boxers, he gives the man a wedgie and is ultimately arrested as an “underwear thief.”

Alas, poor Agent Timmy is about to commit seppuku (or hara-kiri, the Japanese term for ritual suicide) when he meets the “Undie Master,” who gives him a magical tea brewed from ancient underwear.

The tea imbues Agent Timmy with superpowers that allow him to climb a skyscraper and tell the people of Japan about the world underwear crisis. The announcement leads to a Japanese underwear recycling frenzy and Agent Timmy’s ultimate status as a true hero.

“People will watch the video because it’s funny and learn about recycling in the process,” says Rapp. “The overall goal is to switch people’s thinking by making them realize that clothing is a recyclable resource.”

Old underwear, new shirt

According to Patagonia, research shows that “the environmental impact of using worn-out fleece and polyester garments to make new fiber is significantly lower than making that same fiber from virgin materials.”

During the recycling process, worn-out garments, from which buttons, zippers and snaps are removed, are first chopped into small pieces. “We encourage people to only bring back clothing that isn’t wearable anymore,” says Rapp. “If you can give it to a secondhand store, do. If it’s reached the end of its useful life, give it to us.”

After the clothing is cut down, the fabric is “granulated” and formed into small pellets. Those pellets are then broken down to the molecular level and purified to produce a raw polyester material, which looks like a fine, white powder. That powder, in turn, is polymerized and turned into polyester chips, a material that is the same quality as raw virgin material, and spun into new filament fiber. The new fiber is finally magically morphed into new clothes.

“The most important thing about the program is that we’re reducing out reliance on resources and that our customers will help us do this,” Rapp says. “We want our customers to take the same initiative they do in recycling newspapers, cans and bottles.”