Italy’s Atlantis Headwear, distributed in the United States by Sportsman Cap & Bag, has entered into a partnership with recycling specialist ReTraze as part of Atlantis Headwear’s ongoing mission to reduce plastic waste and promote sustainable solutions in the promotional products and blank apparel industry.
As a result of this partnership, the Atlantis is now using visors in its caps made of recycled, traceable PE material created by upcycling discarded fishing nets and plastic bottles. The recycled visors offer consumers a sustainable headwear option that helps keep discarded materials out of landfills and oceans.
According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), human beings generate over 430 million tons of plastic annually, with “ghost gear,” or abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear, accounting for a substantial portion of oceanic plastic waste. Since 2016, ReTraze has partnered with small businesses, fishermen and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to gather these discarded materials in an effort to solve this problem. As part of this effort, ReTraze has developed a vertical supply chain that transforms abandoned fishing nets and other plastics into 100-percent recycled PE panels.
For its part, through a recent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Atlantis Headwear pinpointed conventional PE plastic visors as a critical area for environmental improvement due to the CO2 emissions. This analysis highlighted the need for an alternative that would lessen the environmental footprint without compromising quality.

Among the materials being recycled to create Atlantis Headwear’s new visors are “ghost nets,” a major source of pollution in the world’s oceans. Photo courtesy of Atlantis Headwear/Sportsman Cap & Bag
To mitigate the effects of the critical component in cap manufacture, Atlantis joined forces with ReTraze to create their new Atlantis x ReTraze visors, which also generate 37 percent fewer CO2 emissions compared to conventional visors as an added benefit.
“We are thrilled to partner with a company like ReTraze, which shares our dedication to innovation and sustainability,” said Federico Pasini, vice president of Atlantis Headwear. “The environmental benefits of recycled visors on our caps align perfectly with our mission to produce high-quality, sustainable headwear.”
For more information on Atlantis x ReTraze visors and other preferred technologies that Atlantis Headwear uses, click here. For more on Sportsman Cap & Bag and all its blank apparel product lines, click here.