2010
Waking up to fashion waste and its harm on our planet
Founder’s trip to Africa found beautiful landscapes littered by discarded clothing — a recurrent problem around the globe.
Fabric-filled landfills do tremendous harm to the health of our planet, driving pollution and degrading ecosystems.
2014
Growing our know-how
Blue Bear team began learning the magnitude of the problem. In the U.S. alone, 85% of textiles are thrown away.
One big problem: Most textiles cannot be recycled without rare, complex equipment and processes.
2016
Making fashion sustainable & conscientious
Blue Bear continued to research textile recycling, studying organic washing and softening processes.
2021
Testing new textiles
Blue Bear began testing fabric types, aiming for 100% recyclability.
2022
Blue Bear Apparel launches
Having achieved 100% recyclability, Blue Bear began working with designers to launch Blue Bear Apparel.
Any Blue Bear clothing that’s not properly recycled will start to break down on its own after 100 years.
2023
Blue Bear T-shirts gain a following
Blue Bear Apparel T-shirts launch at select boutiques, attracting demand for new wholesale, custom, and retail inventory.
Wholesale/retail/online offerings grow.
Looking ahead
As the Blue Bear Apparel product line grows, a recycling plant is planned for Indiana, USA.
Also in the works: Store credit toward your next purchase when you recycle your old Blue Bear Apparel clothing.