Haiti one year later: Got trash? Make thread.
One year after Haiti鈥檚 devastating earthquake, the country is still in the early stages of recovery. While aid, food and medical supplies have made it to the island nation, which is considered to be one of the poorest countries on earth, many argue that little has been done to improve Haiti鈥檚 long-term economic stability.
A Pittsburgh-based group of entrepreneurs is trying to change that. Known as (The Haitian Redevelopment Directive), the organization is committed to building a factory that turns discarded plastic bottles into fabric for use in high-performance apparel. They hope the factory will be operational by year-end.
The Haitian factory, which plans to initially employ 10 to 15 workers and pay them a fair wage, would be able to supply the fabric to end users at a lower cost than companies located in other parts of the world, while providing jobs and a de facto sanitation system for Haiti鈥檚 people.
鈥淚鈥檝e been all over world,鈥� said THREAD鈥檚 president and CEO Ian Rosenberger. 鈥淭he two things I see most are poverty and trash.鈥�
THREAD鈥檚 factory would address both problems. By paying locals to recycle their trash, while providing skilled jobs for Haitian citizens, the business would create an economic system that addresses the need for jobs, infrastructure and hope for the future development of Haiti into a country that can compete economically and stand on its own one day. It would also provide a roadmap for the birth of a business that could be used to build factories in other parts of Haiti and in other developing countries.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot to restart economic engines in the developing world,鈥� said Rosenberger, who works full-time as director of business development for the Pittsburgh-based advertising firm Strategic Images.
The technology to recycle plastic into fabric already exists. Companies such as Patagonia and Nike, already use fabric made from recycled plastic in their high-performance apparel.
The key to making the technology work in Haiti would be re-engineering the production process so it could be done in smaller factories.
鈥淭he technology exists,鈥� said Rosenberger. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a matter of scaling it down, producing a bolt of fabric and getting it on someone鈥檚 desk.鈥�
Rosenberger and the rest of the THREAD team 鈥� which is made up of business people, individuals from the nonprofit sector and educators 鈥� hopes to start raising money for the first THREAD factory this spring.
The company anticipates it will need $250,000 for the first six months of operation and another $500,000 after that. It is actively seeking venture capitalists, angel investors and foundations interested in in its project.
Rosenberger believes Haiti is particularly well-suited for this kind of export because the country already has a foundation in the textile industry.
鈥淭he environment is favorable for textile exports to the States,鈥� Rosenberger said. 鈥淎nd, the U.S. government is taking down some of the roadblocks necessary to help jump start business.鈥�
THREAD is partnering with an organization called as well as with students from the engineering departments Penn State University and at Hungary鈥檚 Corvinus University of Budapest.
Rosenberger believes THREAD鈥檚 "social-preneurial" efforts are the way of the future for countries trying to pull themselves out of poverty.
鈥淚n developing world, you don鈥檛 hear words like 鈥榚conomic stimulus鈥� and 鈥榡ob recovery,'鈥� Rosenberger told BusinessNewsDaily. 鈥淵ou hear about aid and donations. Those words need to come into conversation."
"Creating jobs is a ladder to climb out of poverty,鈥� Rosenberger said.
At least one U.S. manufacturer of high-performance apparel, such as running shirts, thinks there is a healthy U.S. market for importing the fabric THREAD plans to produce.
"People are starting to pay more attention to where things are coming from and want to buy from factories that are paying a fair wage and not exploiting the environment,鈥� said Jeremy Litchfield, owner of Atayne, a Brunswick, Maine-based manufacturer of apparel that uses fabric similar to what THREAD hopes to produce. 鈥淭here could be many companies interested in buying from them. There鈥檚 a tremendous potential market out there.鈥�
