It’s not built entirely from plastic water bottles, but Ford’s new Focus Electric car features Repreve seat fabric. The fiber, manufactured by Unifi, is made from a hybrid blend of recycled materials—including the equivalent of more than 20 plastic bottles per car!

Unifi officials say 22 plastic, 16-ounce water bottles are used in the seat fabric of a single Focus Electric. The figure is based on the amount of Repreve branded fiber used in the production of fabric in each vehicle.

Ford has mandated that fabric suppliers use a minimum of 25% recycled content for all 2009 and newer model year vehicles. Since then, 37 different fabrics meeting the requirements have been developed and incorporated into Ford vehicles.

Now, Ford has taken it a step further by mandating that fabric be 100% sustainable in vehicles with eco-conscious powertrains like Focus Electric, which runs on battery power alone.

Repreve is a combination of post-industrial fiber waste and post-consumer waste, like the plastic water bottles made from PET plastic. Using Repreve also reduces energy consumption by offsetting the need to use newly refined crude oil for production.

We are hoping that Focus Electric users will heed the mission of the automaker and use reusable water bottles. Hey Ford, we know of a great place to get them!