If you've taken a look at Amazon's bestselling clothing list lately, you may have seen an unlikely item sitting at the top of the charts. It's not a trendy cardigan or a surprisingly affordable pair of shoes, but a fairly simple pullover sweatshirt by Hanes.
Over 9,000 verified customers have left a review for the staple item, and the secret to its success might be the "EcoSmart" cotton and polyester blend. According to the brand, each sweatshirt features up to 5% of polyester that is partially made of recycled plastic bottles.
Hanes Pullover EcoSmart Fleece Hooded Sweatshirt
We talked with Carole Crosslin, director of corporate communications at Hanes Brands, about the process of including the recycled fibers in the sweatshirt. Crosslin told us the brand has been using fabrics made of recycled materials for over a decade.
"This includes cotton yarns made from spinning technologies that require less energy to manufacture, recycled cotton fibers derived from cut fabric waste, and recycled polyester filament yarns and fibers, both from plastic bottles," Crosslin told us.
The brand strives to seamlessly incorporate the recycled fabric without sacrificing comfort.
"The company has vast experience in using recycled PET [polyester] in its products and has fine-tuned manufacturing processes to incorporate recycled fibers without impact to quality," Crosslin said. "The yarn utilized for these garments is domestically sourced and produced and it includes post-consumer recycled plastic."
Crosslin said Hanes uses nearly 6 million pounds of recycled materials a year. As a result, the brand estimates it is able to save the equivalent of 60 million water bottles from landfills each year.
It seems that customers are loving the result so far, as over 6,000 verified Amazon shoppers have given this sweatshirt a five-star rating. Many mentioned that the fit, affordability and comfort are impressive for its $11 price tag.
"These sweatshirts are great for the price," a verified reviewer wrote. "My first sweatshirt lasted me a long time and now I recently bought three different sweatshirt sizes and they fit perfectly."
Amazon purchasers are also praising the coziness of the hoodie.
"For this being an eco-friendly sweatshirt I expected the material to maybe be scratchy, but it’s not!" raved a verified buyer. "It’s very soft and fits well. The sleeve cuffs are nice and tight so the sleeve doesn’t stretch over your hand."
Made to be machine washable, the hoodie is pill-resistant and reviewers have applauded the lack of fading.
"I bought three of these hoodies," wrote another verified shopper. "The material is soft, not too heavy or light, but just right to wear all day. The colors are great and wash well."
The hoodie is currently available in sizes up to 5XL and comes in 24 different colors to choose from.
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