Circular Fashion Meets Sustainable Building Products: The AZEK® Company and thredUP Announce Plastic Recycling Partnership

AZEK to collect thredUP’s post-consumer plastic Clean Out Bags, process and turn them into new long-lived TimberTech® composite decking, advancing both companies’ ESG and recycling goals

The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE: AZEK) ("AZEK" or the “Company”), the industry-leading manufacturer of beautiful, low-maintenance and environmentally sustainable outdoor living products, including TimberTech^® decking, Versatex^® and AZEK^® Trim, and StruXure™ pergolas, and thredUP (NASDAQ: TDUP), one of the largest online resale platforms for women's and kids' apparel, shoes, and accessories, are proud to announce a new recycling partnership to responsibly transform plastic waste into long-lasting, low-maintenance outdoor living products.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221206005026/en/

The AZEK Company and thredUP announce a new plastic recycling partnership transforming thredUP’s Clean Out Kit plastic film into new TimberTech® by AZEK Composite Decking (Photo: Business Wire)

Through this recycling partnership, AZEK will collect thredUP’s polyethylene plastic Clean Out Bags after the contents have been processed by thredUP, as well as thredUP’s post-industrial plastic film waste, and transport them to AZEK’s vertically integrated polyethylene recycling facility in Wilmington, Ohio. The materials will be processed and incorporated into new TimberTech decking, AZEK’s premium composite decking line that offers the natural beauty of wood, is made from approximately 85% recycled material and engineered to last a lifetime.

“It is unique collaborations with innovative and like-minded companies such as thredUP that will help us meet our goal of recycling one billion pounds of material annually by the end of 2026,” said Jesse Singh, CEO of The AZEK Company. “We are two companies revolutionizing two industries – fashion and building products – to create a more sustainable future, each of us with a full circle commitment to have an outsized impact on the world, while growing a sustainable business.”

Since 2019, AZEK has recycled nearly 1.7 billion pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial waste and scrap material, repurposing it into products across its outdoor living and building products portfolio. In addition to its polyethylene plastic film recycling capabilities, AZEK is the largest vertically-integrated recycler of PVC in the United States.

“While thredUP’s mission is rooted in circularity, we are also focused on ways to ensure our own operations are as sustainable as possible,” said Alon Rotem, Chief Legal Officer of thredUP. “We are proud to partner with AZEK and support their ambitious goal to recycle one billion pounds of material annually. This partnership is an exciting opportunity to level up our previous bag recycling program and create long-lasting premium products that people can enjoy and feel good about.”

Under this partnership, one-hundred percent of the Clean Out bags thredUP receives will be sent to AZEK as post-consumer material and repurposed into outdoor living products. These products can last for decades and are also recyclable at the end of their useful life. With a mission of inspiring a new generation of consumers to think secondhand first, thredUP has processed more than 137 million unique secondhand items and displaced more than 637 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. In September, thredUP released its first Impact Report which outlines the company’s business and brand-aligned environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy and details the progress the company made across ESG initiatives in 2021.

“At AZEK, our purpose-driven strategy is centered on creating shared value that positively impacts all of our stakeholders – products, people and the planet. We are proud to have thredUP join us as a partner. Together, we are saving trash and saving carbon,” continued Singh.

For more information on The AZEK Company, visit azekco.com.

For more information on thredUP visit, thredup.com.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS – THE AZEK COMPANY

This release contains or refers to certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and subject to the "safe harbor" protections thereunder. Forward-looking statements are statements about future events and are based on our current expectations. These forward-looking statements may be identified by the words “believe,” “hope,” "expect," "intend," "will," "target," “anticipate,” "goal" and similar expressions. Our forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about future partnerships and their expected or anticipated benefits, statements about our recycling initiatives and ability to incorporate recycled content into our products and statements with respect to our ability to meet the future targets and goals we establish, including our environmental, social and governance goals, and the ultimate impact of our actions on our business as well as the expected benefits to the environment, our employees, the communities in which we do business or otherwise. We base our forward-looking statements on information available to us on the date of this release, and undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of changed circumstances, new information, future events or otherwise, except as may otherwise be required by law. Actual future events could also differ materially due to numerous factors that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, among other things, the risks and uncertainties set forth under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the our reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in any subsequent reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Although we have attempted to identify those material factors that could cause actual results or events to differ from those described in such forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Given these uncertainties, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.

About The AZEK^® Company

The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE: AZEK) is the industry-leading designer and manufacturer of beautiful, low maintenance and environmentally sustainable outdoor living products, including TimberTech^® decking, Versatex^® and AZEK^® Trim, and StruXure™ pergolas. Consistently recognized as the market leader in innovation, quality and aesthetics, products across AZEK’s portfolio are made from up to approximately 90% recycled material and primarily replace wood on the outside of homes, providing a long-lasting, eco-friendly, and stylish solution to consumers. Leveraging the talents of its approximately 2,000 employees and the strength of relationships across its value chain, The AZEK Company is committed to accelerating the use of recycled material in the manufacturing of its innovative products, keeping millions of pounds of waste out of landfills each year, and revolutionizing the industry to create a more sustainable future. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the company operates manufacturing and recycling facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan and Minnesota. For additional information, please visit azekco.com.

About thredUP

thredUP is transforming resale with technology and a mission to inspire a new generation of consumers to think secondhand first. By making it easy to buy and sell secondhand, thredUP has become one of the world's largest online resale platforms for women's and kids' apparel, shoes and accessories. Sellers love thredUP because we make it easy to clean out their closets and unlock value for themselves or for the charity of their choice while doing good for the planet. Buyers love shopping value, premium and luxury brands all in one place, at up to 90% off estimated retail price. Our proprietary operating platform is the foundation for our managed marketplace and consists of distributed processing infrastructure, proprietary software and systems and data science expertise. With thredUP's Resale-as-a-Service, some of the world's leading brands and retailers are leveraging our platform to deliver customizable, scalable resale experiences to their customers. thredUP has processed over 137 million unique secondhand items from 55,000 brands across 100 categories. By extending the life cycle of clothing, thredUP is changing the way consumers shop and ushering in a more sustainable future for the fashion industry.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221206005026/en/