From Waste to Wearable - Recycling Plastic Into Sustainable Clothing

Would you wear clothing made from plastic party cups recycled into fabric? 

Lauren Choi, founder of The New Norm Fabric, joins host Ian Peterman to share how she's turning hard-to-recycle plastics into sustainable fabric. From building an extruder in her garage to partnering with manufacturers, Lauren’s journey is a must-watch for innovators, entrepreneurs, and sustainability advocates. Learn about the challenges of recycling, the future of eco-friendly materials, and how she’s scaling her impact without traditional venture capital. 

In this episode, we explore the birth of The New Norm and Lauren’s journey from college to sustainable fabric, along with the challenges and innovations in plastic recycling. Lauren discusses how she scaled her operation, moving from building a machine in her garage to manufacturing at scale. She shares insights into sourcing and recycling ocean plastics into wearable fabric, the future of sustainable fabric, and how the company is pushing eco-friendly innovations. Finally, Lauren talks about navigating the startup ecosystem and how she’s creating a positive environmental impact without relying on traditional venture capital.

📌 Notable Moments

00:00 - Guest Introduction

00:33 - From College to Sustainable Fabric: the birth of The New Norm

04:48 - Challenges and Innovations in Recycling

06:13 - Scaling Up: From Garage to Production

08:56 - Sourcing and Recycling Ocean Plastics

13:59 - The Future of Sustainable Textiles

20:03 - Navigating the Startup Ecosystem

29:28 - The Road Ahead: Scaling and Collaboration

🎙️ About Lauren Choi and The New Norm 

Lauren Choi is the founder of The New Norm. While studying Materials Engineering at Johns Hopkins, she spent a summer building an extruder machine in her garage to recycle plastic into yarn.

Since then, she has dedicated her life to scaling their recycling technology, building a domestic supply chain with manufacturing partners, and creating sustainable materials that are fully made in the U.S. The New Norm transforms party cups and ocean plastics into sustainable fabric.

Globally, over 90% of plastics are not recycled. The New Norm addresses this issue head-on by specifically targeting plastics that are not commonly recycled within the existing infrastructure and transforming them into sustainable, wearable fabric.

👕 Learn More about Lauren Choi and The New Norm 

Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-choi-thenewnorm/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thenewnormfabric/?hl=en

Website:https://thenewnormfabric.com/

💚Learn More About Conscious Design 

YouTube Channel:http://bit.ly/3sG7VEi

Blog:https://bit.ly/3kltV6s

Conscious Design Book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KNMN9BT

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Visit our website:https://www.petermanfirm.com/

We created this content so that creative entrepreneurs like you can integrate social and environmental responsibility into your brand’s DNA through #ConsciousDesign. Ian Peterman, the leading expert in Conscious Design, hosts the Conscious Design podcast and is the co-author of the book "Cons