{"id":35007,"date":"2017-03-10T05:01:17","date_gmt":"2017-03-10T12:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tested-neuron.flywheelsites.com\/?p=35007"},"modified":"2017-06-13T16:34:29","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T22:34:29","slug":"most-responsible-fabric-on-planet-q-a-thread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unreasonablegroup.com\/articles\/most-responsible-fabric-on-planet-q-a-thread\/","title":{"rendered":"The Most Responsible Fabric on the Planet: Q&A With Thread"},"content":{"rendered":"

The clothing industry is the<\/strong> second largest polluter<\/a> in the world; only oil contaminates more. \u201cFast fashion\u201d emphasizes getting the latest trends from catwalk to consumer as fast and as cheaply possible. This perspective on the clothes we wear every day devalues the materials, mistreats the laborers, and obfuscates the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Thread<\/a> is bringing transparency and fair treatment back into apparel by producing fabrics transformed from plastic bottles found in the streets of some of the poorest communities on the planet. More importantly, this company is on a mission to end poverty by creating dignified jobs alongside nonprofit partner Team Tassy<\/a> \u2013 their stories inextricably linked after the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010.<\/p>\n

The clothing industry is the second-largest polluter in the world; only oil contaminates more.<\/i> Tweet This Quote<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Today, over 1,300 Haitians collect the plastic bottles that become Thread\u2122 fabric. Each yard of fabric is tracked from the \u201cfirst mile\u201d to the last, where it winds up in the products of global brands seeking smarter sustainability practices. According to its most recent Impact Report, Thread created 3,845 income opportunities in Haiti and Honduras and exported over 378,000 pounds of plastic waste in 2016 alone.<\/p>\n

Most recently, Thread launched its new collection with Timberland called Thread X Timberland<\/a>. The shoes, t-shirts and bags incorporate Thread\u2019s fabric and tell the story of what it means to go from Ground to Good\u2122 and reframe what it means to be fashionable.<\/p>\n

Unreasonable sat down with Ian Rosenberger, founder of Team Tassy and Thread, to discuss why he went to Haiti in the first place, how he formed his philosophy on poverty, and why we need an apparel revolution.<\/p>\n

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What emotion or feeling made you decide that you had to go to Haiti after the earthquake in 2010?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ian<\/strong>: It\u2019s so hard to say. When 9\/11 happened, I felt I wanted to go to New York City. I just felt like I could be useful. I didn’t go, and I regretted it. I told myself when something like that came along, I was never going to let myself regret that again. So when the earthquake in Haiti happened, and that was nine years later, I said I’m going. It\u2019s all about timing. Everything that had happened up to that point brought me to January 12, 2010.<\/p>\n

I had to kind of throw away all the things that I knew. Like, I knew I probably wasn’t supposed to go, and I would probably be a pain in the ass and be in the way. But it felt like I had the permission from myself to go. I wasn\u2019t going with any intention of starting a business; I just wanted to figure out how to help.<\/p>\n