AFF Technical Resources - Recycled Clothing Finds Its Way Into North American Ford Focus

December 1 2010

* Recycled blue jeans find their way into the Focus interior as part of eco-conscious materials
* Recycled cottons used as part of carpet backing and sound absorption material
* Use of environmentally conscious materials is part of company commitment to "reduce, re-use and recycle"

Worn-out blue jeans are getting a second chance inside the next-generation Ford Focus.

The new Focus available in North America uses cottons from recycled clothing, including old jeans, in areas such as carpet backing and sound-absorption materials for interior quietness.

Using environmentally conscious materials, including recycled clothing, is one part of Ford’s overall sustainability strategy.

Ford's US-based product sustainability manager, Carrie Majeske, said Ford was continually looking for greener alternatives.

"One of our key goals is to use more recycled or renewable materials without compromising performance or durability," she said.

"Recycled content is a way to divert waste from landfills and reduce the impact of mining virgin material."

Ford's "reduce, re-use and recycle" commitment is part of the company’s broader global sustainability strategy to reduce its environmental footprint while at the same time accelerating the development of advanced, fuel-efficient vehicle technologies around the world.

Over the past several years, Ford has concentrated on increasing the use of non-metal recycled and bio-based materials, including soy foam seat cushions, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers and natural-fibre plastic for interior components on some of its global vehicles.

Ford vehicles continue to become more eco-conscious through the creative use of renewable and/or recycled materials.

For example, one of the clothing materials used in the next-generation Focus available in North America is post-consumer cotton that comes from recycled blue jeans.

"The good news is these jeans didn’t end up in a landfill, nor did we use the water, fertiliser and land to grow virgin cotton," Majeske said.

"It’s an alternative that our customers can appreciate.

"It’s cost effective and it’s better for our planet. These are the kinds of sustainable solutions we are looking for in all our vehicles."

The amount of post-consumer cotton from blue jeans used in a vehicle comes out to roughly two pairs of average-sized American jeans, based on grams of cotton used per metre of denim and the metres of denim used to make a pair of jeans.

"Great fuel economy is our first priority for reducing the vehicle’s impact on the environment," Majeske said.

"As we deliver that, we also seek to use materials inside a vehicle that reduce the environmental impact as well.

"The use of recycled clothing is one step, but what else are people discarding that could be used in our vehicles? Ford is determined to find out."

The new Focus is the result of a global product development program bringing together Ford’s best engineers and designers from around the world.