93% Lower Impact: The Tech Making Sustainable Fashion Competitive

Aug 28, 2025

Zahlen Titcomb and Kristen Albrecht, co-founders of Ravel, are transforming the fashion industry with their innovative recycling technology. They discuss how Ravel’s method reduces environmental impact by 93% while achieving price parity with traditional materials. The duo explains the challenges of textile waste, industry adoption, and the importance of maintaining material value in recycling processes. They highlight the significance of collaboration within the supply chain to drive sustainable practices and share their cautious optimism for the future of sustainable fashion.

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ADVICE

Build Market-Ready, Drop-In Solutions

Design climate solutions to fit existing market rules so companies can adopt them without extra cost.
Deliver drop-in products at price parity to remove the CFO vs. CSO adoption impasse.

INSIGHT

Non-Destructive Purification Recycling

Ravel's core principle is non-destructive purification recycling that preserves existing material value.
Keeping material value reduces energy use and cost vs. full depolymerization or mechanical downcycling.

ANECDOTE

Inside The Purification Recycling Process

Zahlen describes Ravel's process as 'purification recycling' that partitions blended inputs into single streams without depolymerizing.
He likens the plant to a microbrewery of pipes, tanks, heat, and clever engineering.

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The fashion industry produces 97 million tons of waste each year, and is responsible for 10% of global emissions and 20% of freshwater pollution. If we care about our planet, we need to take a closer look at sustainable fashion, and that is where Ravel enters the picture.

In this episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, host Dylan Garrett welcomes Ravel cofounders Zahlen Titcomb and Kristen Albrecht to discuss their breakthrough textile recycling technology. By recycling polyester and blended fabrics with 59% less energy while matching the price of virgin materials, Ravel is proving that sustainability can scale. They share insights on market-driven solutions, industry adoption, and transforming one of the world’s most polluting industries.

What you will learn:

Why fashion's 97 million tons of waste and 10% of global emissions needs urgent innovation
How Ravel's recycling technology achieves 93% lower environmental impact
Reaching price parity to drive widespread adoption of sustainable materials
Why focusing on blended materials creates unique market advantages in recycling
How supply chain integration and practical demonstrations drive industry acceptance
Why successful climate solutions must work within existing market systems
Maintaining material value rather than destroying and rebuilding in recycling processes
Why collaboration with industry incumbents accelerates sustainable transformation

Zahlen Titcomb and Kristen Albrecht are the co-founders of Ravel, a pioneering company revolutionizing textile recycling through innovative polyester recycling technology. Zahlen brings extensive textile industry experience as the former co-founder of Five Ultimate, a leading ultimate Frisbee apparel brand, and BAM Boxers. Kristen's background in apparel supply chain design and sustainability, including running her own apparel company, provides crucial insights into industry challenges and solutions. Together, they've developed a groundbreaking non-destructive approach to recycling blended fiber materials that reduces energy consumption by 59%, CO2 emissions by 32%, and water usage by 90% compared to virgin polyester production.

Episode Resources:

Zahlen Titcomb on LinkedIn
Kristen Albrecht on LinkedIn
Ravel Website
Dylan Garrett on LinkedIn
Synapse Podcast Website
Synapse Website
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