A wardrobe staple for men, women and children worldwide, the iconic polo shirt is a sartorial choice and fashion statement. Representing smart casual, and sports centric dressing this garment continues to evolve through the decades.
Invented almost a century ago as a practical sports shirt for English gentry polo players in India, it was later embraced by tennis and golf athletes. It has become one of the most popular and enduring items in the history of fashion. The shirt is revered for its versatility and loved for its ability to make a polished look accessible to all.
Available in a multitude of colors, it has weathered countless style iterations over the decades and pushed the boundaries of fashion with forward-thinking versions such as the cutting edge PoloTech™ smart shirt - which was embedded with sensors to track the wearer’s vital signs such as heart rate, stress levels and calories burned.
The polo has also become a symbol of innovation and sustainability, through the development of the Earth Polo. Historically, Ralph Lauren have reimaged the polo over time by factoring in new fits, fabrics and details.
Marking Earth Day in 2019, they have created the Earth Polo collection. It features a signature range of Polos in four distinctive colors: green, white, navy, and light blue.
While these staple pieces resemble the traditional cotton polo, each shirt is actually made from approximately 12 recyclable plastic bottles. These bottles have been transformed into high quality fabric using a technique developed by global sustainability experts First Mile. Once produced, the fabric is dyed using a cutting-edge process that uses zero water.
The result is a product that would still look very familiar to consumers around the world – but is actually forging a bright new sustainable future for the fashion industry.
“Ralph founded our company more than 50 years ago with the idea that whatever we create is meant to be worn, loved, and passed on for generations. It’s with this spirit of timelessness that we approach sustainability.”
― Halide Alagoz, Executive Vice President, Chief Supply Chain and Sustainability Officer
Ralph Lauren’s Chief Innovation Officer David Lauren explained “Plastic waste is a major issue threatening the environment – we want to be part of the solution and utilize an innovative approach to create something valuable.”
Ralph Lauren has committed to removing at least 170 million bottles from landfills and oceans by 2025. Their Earth Polo builds upon their commitment to the environment and global conversation around sustainable fashion. The Earth Polo can potentially change how the global fashion industry functions.
Here’s to another hundred years of the polo shirt and its central place in the bright new future of sustainable fashion.