Senior entrepreneurship majors Erin Moffitt and Ashley Revay have created an innovative and stylish line of yoga pants for women.
The duo recently launched their startup, Chakra Fitwear, and attempted to raise funds through Kickstarter so as to start the production of printed women’s yoga pants made from recycled plastic bottles. Both Moffitt and Revay were helped by their friend Calla Michaelides, a fashion design senior who designed the pants. They have now partnered with fabric company Rethink Fabrics based in Seattle.
The Kickstarter fund had a goal of $80,000, which it failed to reach by the Dec. 20 deadline. A total of $8,941 was pledged by 139 backers, but on Kickstarter, projects that do not meet their goal receive none of the pledged funding.
In response, the Chakra Facebook page posted, “Thank you so much for supporting us throughout our Kickstarter campaign, on social media and by telling all of your friends about us! We could not be more appreciative of the support we’ve received. Although we did not reach our Kickstarter goal, we want to assure you that we are still powering forward. The campaign itself may have been unsuccessful, but Kickstarter opened up so many doors that we had never even explored and connected us to people that we never would’ve met otherwise.”
Moffitt and Revay stated that Chakra fitwear exists to provide a product with a purpose and look to make this planet a cleaner and greener place through the implementation of recycled materials. Not only does the brand seeks to save the planet earth, but they also want to empower women everywhere.
Revay added that while many people choose cotton over synthetic materials, most people aren’t aware of the fact that there may be pesticide residue on cotton, due to the pesticide-intensive way it is grown. On the other hand, they say, Chakra fabric is free of pesticides and won’t cause skin irritation.
Other facts cited on their Kickstarter page were that “over 1 million birds and over 100,000 marine animals die each year from plastic ingestion or entanglement” and “we consume 53 billion gallons of water each year. That’s over 500 trillion plastic water bottles.”
Chakra pants also help to save water. They use 90 percent less water in the production compared to the production of similar virgin polyester pants. To add to all of this their pants are entirely made in the United States. Rethink Fabrics has in the fabric business for many years now and has been producing high quality garments keeping environment in mind. The so-called Chakra girls have a goal to promote recycling in mainstream by repurposing plastic waste into a desirable product.
The process of creating the pants begins with containers made from polyethylene terephthalate, commonly known simply as “PET,” that are picked up at recycling center, sorted, washed, crush, chopped into flakes and then melted into consistently shaped pellets. These pellets are melted again in order to make a fiber that is eventually baled to be processed into fabric.
Funding will go toward manufacturing, distribution and certification costs. Moffitt and Revay want to leave no stone unturned and provide best quality clothing. They also wish to obtain a bisphenol A-free certificate.