93% Lower Impact: The Tech Making Sustainable Fashion Competitive

Hardware to Save a Planet · 28 Aug 2025 · 50m · Episode 86

What this episode covers

Ravel cofounders Zahlen Titcomb and Kristen Albrecht explain their non-destructive purification recycling technology for polyester and blended fabrics, which consumes 59% less energy and achieves price parity with virgin materials. They discuss their pilot plant in Seattle, their strategy of selling recycled polyester pellets to yarn manufacturers, and their focus on post-industrial and post-consumer waste streams. The episode highlights how Ravel’s market-based approach, avoiding the need for consumer altruism, aims to scale rapidly within the existing linear fashion supply chain to reduce global emissions.

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