Meet Social Entrepreneur Ian Rosenberger
Ian Rosenberger is a social impact champion who founded three ventures that create opportunity from waste. His organization WORK provides jobs for underserved communities in developing regions by tapping into landfill labor markets. First Mile, Rosenberger’s sustainable supply startup, intercepts plastic waste headed for oceans and landfills and reprocesses it into recycled materials that are provided to global brands who source these materials to meet eco-friendly sourcing goals.
Rosenberger also launched direct-to-consumer backpack brand Day Owl, which manufactures packs using upcycled materials from First Mile. By recovering and reimagining waste, Rosenberger’s integrated enterprises offer scalable models for ethical production that empower local workers and protect the planet.
Rosenberger’s businesses are dedicated to creating sustainable products while also offering marginalized communities better job opportunities. The businesses gives the natives a chance to earn a sustainable livelihood by removing plastic bottles from oceans and landfill areas. The material gathered is transformed through a state-of-the-art process into branded products. The solution serves two problems.
Rosenberger vision is to link First Mile’s consumer branding to principles of equality, transparency, and responsibility. Ian’s efforts have been presented at the Harvard Business School, at SXSW events and the United Nations. He is also a 2016 Barclay’s Unreasonable Impact Fellow and sits on the Ocean Conservancy’s Technical Advisory Committee that deals with eliminating plastic waste. So far he has directed funds of almost $10 million to communities with a need-base.
How Rosenberger’s company transforms plastic to usable fabric: –
1. Plastic Bottle Collection
Plastic bottles are collected from neighborhoods, streets alleys, and even landfills to trade for cash in return from the local plastic collection center.
- Logistics
Once these bottles are assembled at the center, they are piled into trucks that taken to the company’s recycling plant for further processing.
- Recycling Plant
Workers here unload and grind every plastic bottle to create plastic small flakes. Covers and lids are removed to provide superior fabric and ultimately facilitate a better livelihood for the poor.
- Fiber Production and Texturizing
The recycled flakes are converted into fine thin strands, and texturizing is done to turn the fabric into a soft fiber.
- Fabric Production
Fiber is spun and further texturized to develop a strong strand of spun yarn for use in textured fabrics.
The company has created more than 35 fabrics with a wide variety of colors, to cater to the requirements of different brands.
Learn more about https://firstmile.com/
