Raised in Vancouver, Canada, Lauren Gropper’s love of the pure world grew early on — and so did her need to assist protect it. After pursuing environmental research and geography in school, Gropper did a variety of labor in associated fields. Then she went on to check sustainable design in graduate college.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Repurpose. Lauren Gropper.
In graduate college, Gropper was in a horrible accident that reconfirmed her dedication to pursuing work that made a distinction, she says.
“Like many foreigners overseas, I used to be very all for using mopeds and bikes,” Gropper recollects, “and I used to be within the mountains of Thailand and ended up colliding right into a bus. I broke my jaw and misplaced all my tooth. It was a life-changing, near-death expertise. It cemented my [conviction to] do one thing on this planet that made an influence.”
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Gropper was decided to construct a profession with that aim in thoughts, however beginning a enterprise wasn’t on her radar to start with. She continued to achieve expertise within the inexperienced constructing house consulting for big companies, then moved to Los Angeles to do the identical work for design on movie and tv units.
“This was, no pun supposed, not sustainable.”
Though Gropper had a hand in constructing sustainable units, she could not assist however discover the intense waste that unfolded on them as soon as filming began: Disposable plastic cutlery was the norm for each meal.
“Folks needed to break to eat [and] eat rapidly,” Gropper explains. “There was no approach round utilizing disposable objects. It is simply the character of the enterprise. Every little thing’s very non permanent. It simply turned apparent to me that this was, no pun supposed, not sustainable.”
Along with her design background, Gropper noticed an obvious answer to the difficulty: A cleaner, greener product that did not final without end in a landfill. Gropper began researching options that already existed and found it was doable to make comparable merchandise out of plant-based, unhazardous supplies that will break down inside 90 days.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Repurpose
“ There was a zero-waste round answer, which embodied every thing that I had studied, so I received actually enthusiastic about that,” Gropper says. “And it felt like enterprise could be a extremely useful gizmo to amplify the change. [I started to think about] how we may use enterprise for good or as a software for influence.”
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As Gropper continued her analysis into the plant-based options, she discovered that some had been way more viable than others. A lot of them not solely did not work properly but in addition got here with prohibitive prices. Gropper wanted to determine methods to develop a product that carried out and did not require folks to pay considerably extra.
“[It’s] principally taking plant starch and turning it right into a polymer that mimics plastic.”
Two giant chemical corporations “create the constructing blocks” for a majority of these merchandise, that are usually comprised of a mix of plant-based resin and agricultural waste, Gropper explains. Basically, the method entails taking one thing that will be burnt or discarded and giving it a second life.
“[It’s] principally taking plant starch and turning it right into a polymer that mimics plastic,” Gropper says. “That mixture is what offers you a product that may maintain as much as a traditional plastic product, however then break down in a 90-day interval and be licensed by impartial our bodies as compostable.”
Within the U.S., merchandise should bear third-party certification, full with a soil take a look at and microplastic and toxin hint evaluation, to obtain the “compostable” designation.
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Gropper’s analysis led her to a Taiwan-based group ”that was type of main the cost globally in options to single-use plastic.” The group had already been manufacturing merchandise that carried out properly at worth level; it appeared like a possibility to aim shopper adoption at mass scale, Gropper says.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Repurpose
“ There was white house in all places,” Gropper says, “however what felt actually compelling was the thought of making a model round all these totally different merchandise, as a result of you then weren’t simply making one product. You were not simply making a commodity and placing it right into a system. You might be really making a model that would lengthen into totally different product classes, that will signify this better-for-you, better-for-the-planet model for the trendy shopper.”
“ Product high quality has at all times been paramount for us.”
Gropper’s Repurpose hit the market in late 2011 and has grown significantly over the past decade-plus. Now, the model boasts eight-figure gross sales, has changed 656 million items of plastic and affords greater than 15 several types of sustainable family merchandise in 20,000 shops nationwide.
Like many founders and CEOs, Gropper acknowledges the plethora of challenges that got here with constructing her firm over time: ones that always require artistic problem-solving. There have been merchandise printed the other way up forward of an vital retail launch, money stream constraints that main legacy gamers do not face, conflicts to navigate amongst workforce members and so many extra.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Repurpose
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In accordance with Gropper, being agile sufficient to beat these obstacles as they come up has been key to Repurpose’s development and success — as has an unwavering dedication to the model’s product high quality.
“ Product high quality has at all times been paramount for us,” Gropper says. “However at a worth level that is accessible. [We want this product to be] obtainable to all People. [And also] as sustainable as doable. Should you can ship on these three issues on the similar time, you could be profitable. And that’s what we have completed.”
This text is a part of our ongoing Ladies Entrepreneur® collection highlighting the tales, challenges and triumphs of operating a enterprise as a lady.
