# 93% Lower Impact: The Tech Making Sustainable Fashion Competitive

- Show: [Hardware to Save a Planet](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet)
- Published: 2025-08-28
- Length: 50m
- Episode: 86
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive
- Listen: https://podcasts.fame.so/e/qn0vp73n-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive-zahlen-and-kristen

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive#t=0) Introduction: Ravel's 93% Lower Impact and Life Cycle Analysis
- [3:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive#t=188) Founders' Backgrounds: 5 Ultimate, Bam Boxers, and Supply Chain Frustrations
- [9:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive#t=554) Waste Streams: Post-Industrial, Pre-Consumer, and Post-Consumer Textiles
- [15:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive#t=930) Market-Based Solutions: Price Parity and Supply Chain Incentives
- [21:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive#t=1280) Technology: Non-Destructive Purification vs. Mechanical and Chemical Recycling
- [31:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive#t=1883) Pilot Plant and Commercialization: Selling Polyester Pellets to Yarn Manufacturers
- [37:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive#t=2278) Feedstock Strategy: Handling Blended Materials and the 'Big Four' Fibers
- [44:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive#t=2645) Future Ambitions: Velocity, Scale, and Industry Collaboration

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Ravel (company)
- 5 ultimate (company)
- Bam boxers (company)
- Synapse (company)
- One Ventures (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Threading the future of circular fashion with Peter Majeranowski of Circ](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-07-threading-the-future-of-circular-fashion-with-peter-majeranowski-of-circ) (How I Built This)
- [HIBT Lab! UNLESS Collective: Eric Liedtke](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-05-16-hibt-lab-unless-collective-eric-liedtke) (How I Built This)
- [231 -Krzysztof Krajewski discuss his role in sustainability at RDM Group](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-12-06-231-krzysztof-krajewski-discuss-his-role-in-sustainability-at-rdm-group) (People of Packaging)
- [243 - Tony Perrotta on why we need to move beyond just talking about sustainability](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-02-06-243-tony-perrotta-on-why-we-need-to-move-beyond-just-talking-about-sustainabilit) (People of Packaging)
- [169. Novel Fabrics + Robots = Sustainable One-size-fits-all Fashion Revolution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2024-04-09-169-novel-fabrics-robots-sustainable-one-size-fits-all-fashion-revolution) (The Next Byte Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-08-28-93-lower-impact-the-tech-making-sustainable-fashion-competitive. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Hardware to Save a Planet.