At Australian Open, T-shirts made from recycled PET bottles

What can 1,88,708 used PET bottles do to the environment? A lot of damage, actually. But thanks to Tennis Australia and Tirupur-based garments company NC John & Sons, they have been given new life as apparel for ball boys, girls, and courstside statisticians at the ongoing Australian Open tennis tournament. The company has tailored 25,000 garments for the tournament, all of them 100% recycled polyester.

Seated in his office at the Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) campus in Tirupur, Alexander Neroth, CEO of NC John & Sons, shows us T-shirts, leggings, shorts, zipper-jackets and tennis dresses that his company made as part of the order. In aqua blue, white, and green, the apparel is made of polyester filament yarn from recycled plastic bottles.

“We got the yarn imported from Taiwan,” explains the 46-year-old. “The fabric,” he adds, “Was knitted and dyed in Surat, and brought to Tirupur. Our team of around 100 tailors, most of them women, created the outfits based on the designs from Tennis Australia.”

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