Sustainability projects do not come cheap.
The Inn at Penn, however, has overcome this challenge with its new sustainable uniforms.
This summer, the Inn at Penn introduced new eco-friendly apparel for its front-desk staff. While ostensibly similar to past uniforms, each garment — blazer, pants, shirt and blouse — is spun from 100-percent recycled polyester, produced entirely from post-consumer material.
Every suit is made out of approximately 25 recycled two-liter plastic bottles and uses 90 percent less water and 66 percent less energy to produce, according to the hotel’s uniform supplier, Cintas.
In addition to being energy efficient, these uniforms are also cost efficient.
“There is a net savings to [the Inn at Penn] both in terms of the uniform cost and the cost to clean it,” Inn at Penn General Manager Greg Stafford said.
A woman’s suit used to cost $206.94 and now costs $127.98. A man’s suit cost $219.90 and now costs $137.98. Furthermore, previous uniforms had to be sent for dry-cleaning while the new polyester ones can be machine-washed and are crease-resistant enough to spare ironing.
Since the uniforms have been implemented, Stafford estimates a savings of approximately $6,000.
There was initial skepticism about suiting up in recycled plastic, but the uniforms are now well-received.
“I get a lot of compliments on them,” Front Desk Associate Alicia Perry said. “[Guests] couldn’t believe that they are made out of recycled bottles.”
The Inn at Penn is not the first to introduce sustainable apparel on campus. Last spring, Penn ordered recycled graduation gowns for the Class of 2010 as part of the University’s Climate Action Plan.
Stafford said that while the Inn at Penn did speak directly with the University about the new uniforms, the project is in “keeping with the University’s direction” towards a larger sustainability commitment and is “an obvious win for everybody.”
