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Sun Day Red

From its inception, Incase has strived to deliver a better consumer experience by combining superior product design with high-performing, environmentally friendly materials. Last year we began partnering with BIONIC®, a material-engineering company specializing in the production of high-grade, fully traceable textiles and polymers derived from plastic recovered from coastal areas. Here’s how BIONIC creates its products and the win-win impact it has on the environment and Incase.

STEP ONE: Outreach & Recovery

BIONIC starts by identifying a coastline in need of cleanup and reaching out to the local community to rally support. That includes families, friends, school groups, nonprofits -- anyone interested in helping clean up the coast. Temporary recycling stations and commercial collection points are set up and operated by BIONIC employees, but the hands-on cleanup work is a community effort. Together, teams methodically scour the beach and coastal area for plastic products and other waste. BIONIC uses PET and HDPE plastics (soda bottles, milk jugs, etc.), but picks up all forms of plastics, glass and recyclables and sends them to appropriate recycling centers. 

STEP TWO: Sorting, Processing & Pelletizing

Step two is the remarkable transformation of recovered plastic into useful material. It starts at a BIONIC-built regional facility in proximity to the recovery site, where the plastic is sorted by type and color, compacted, and ground into flakes. Flakes are shipped to another facility to be cleaned of contaminants, like sand and label remnants, then melted together and passed through a device called a spinneret. The spinneret restructures the plastic into polymer and extrudes it in long threads that are cut into small pellets. These pellets form the base material of every high-tech yarn and thread BIONIC produces.

STEP THREE: Creating a Stronger Thread

The final step is where the magic happens, and it occurs at the many partner mills BIONIC engages with worldwide. The polymer pellets are melted and extruded in long filaments that are spun into three yarns: FLX, DPX and HLX. FLX is 100% recycled plastic. DPX blends recycled plastic with natural and synthetic fibers for a soft texture. HLX incorporates added fibers for a three-layer construction anchored by a recycled-plastic core. BIONIC can weave a nearly infinite array of textiles with these three yarns, including the high-performance fabrics we use in our BIONIC Collection.

REMARKABLE MATERIALS. EXTRAORDINARY PRODUCTS. CLEANER ENVIRONMENT

BIONIC turns pollution into valuable materials ideal for making the strong, protective and pleasing product designs Incase is known for. It’s a partnership we foresee sustaining, for the good of the environment and the good of our products. We also hope it serves as both a prescient example and a call to action that inspire others to seek sustainable, environment-building solutions to find responsible ways to create and maintain the types of powerful products and services consumers deserve.