Renfro is a manufacturer, designer, distributor and marketer of legwear products, for its sustainability efforts in the effective use of natural resources.
“The Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce was most pleased to award the Green Business Award to the Renfro Corporation. Our selection committee utilizes demanding criteria when determining a winner of the award and, after considering all that this company does to eliminate waste and efficiently use resources, choosing Renfro as this year’s winner was an ‘easy call.’ Our Chamber is proud of the Renfro Corporation and appreciates all it does to improve the environment that we all share,” said Dennis Lowe, chairman of the board of the Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce.
The press release from the Chamber reported Renfro tracks its use of natural gas, water, power and recycled waste to help eliminate the unnecessary waste of natural resources. The company establishes, measures and reports its initiatives through company score cards, so that environmental goals can be continuously improved.
Renfro, the release continued, has worked hard to use natural resources and to implement resources designed to reduce or eliminate waste. The company regularly monitors paper, plastics, cloth, metals and wood that might be used in the manufacturing or distribution process and diligently strives to keep them out of the landfill. The company recycles 25 items on a daily basis.
The company’s sustainability efforts extend to consumer products also. Renfro has developed socks that are environmentally friendly, from bamboo to organic cotton to 100 percent recycled yarn. In other conservation efforts, it uses 70 percent pre-consumer recycled plastic in Fruit of the Loom packaging. Walmart, which has a comprehensive sustainability program, grades Renfro’s sustainability as above target compared to other apparel vendors.
To reinforce and guide the company’s environmental conscience, it established a green committee and a sustainability logo in 2006 as a constant reminder of its mission to be responsible citizens and good stewards of natural resource.
