Ralph Lauren's 'Earth Polo' is made of plastic

Ralph Lauren has started selling a version of its iconic Polo shirt that is made completely from recycled plastic bottles.

Each shirt — dubbed the Earth Polo — is made from roughly 12 plastic bottles and manufactured in Taiwan, where the bottles are collected and processed into high-quality yarn and fabric.

The shirt, which does not require any water be used in the dyeing process, went on sale in the company's global retail stores and website on Thursday, ahead of Earth Day on Monday.

In announcing Earth Polo, Ralph Lauren committed to removing at least 170 million bottles from landfills and oceans by 2025.

"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,'' David Lauren, the youngest son of the company's founder and its chief innovation officer, said in a statement.

"Every day we're learning about what's happened with global warming and what's happening all around the world, and our employees and our customers are really feeling that it's time to step up and make a difference," he said.

"When Ralph founded our company more than 50 years ago, he did so 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, the company's chief supply chain and sustainability officer, said in a press release.

Alagoz told China Daily that the company would "absolutely" expand its collection of bottles beyond Taiwan to other places, including the US, where the brand is based.

"At the moment we're refreshing our approach and framework around sustainability," she said.

Alagoz said Ralph Lauren is working with experts who say the impact of turning a plastic bottle into recycled microfiber is "much less than that bottle ending up in the ocean".

Among the company's other goals: the use of 100 percent sustainably sourced cotton by 2025, and 100 percent recyclable or sustainably sourced packaging materials by the same year.

Ralph Lauren partnered with First Mile, a company that operates in Taiwan, Haiti and Honduras. The company works with local entrepreneurs to collect recyclable plastic bottles.

"Through innovative partnerships within our supply chain, we were able to develop a scalable solution to produce our Earth Polo program at the same price as our classic Polo shirt," Alagoz said.

"The quality of the fabric for the Earth Polo meets the same high-quality standards as all of our other products," she said.

The Earth Polo comes in men's and women's styles, in green, white, navy and light blue, and retails for $89.50.

Burberry and H&M were among fashion giants to sign on in late 2018 to the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP24, in Poland. The charter contains a vision to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Ralph Lauren is not a signatory but is exploring the call to action.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.