How Repurpose Is Bringing Sustainability Into Everyday Products — with Lauren Gropper, founder and CEO

On this episode of Girl Gang the Podcast, we're interviewing Lauren Gropper - Founder and CEO at Repurpose.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Girl Gang the Podcast. I'm your host, Amy Will, and the founder of Girl Gang. This podcast is brought to you by Girl GangThelabel.com. Head to our website after the show to browse our directory of female-owned businesses and enjoy exclusive discounts from them. Read our online magazine, The Edit, for interviews with female creatives, plus tips, tools, and rituals to level up your own career. Shop our line of merchandise, including our signature support your local girl gang collection. For every item sold, we team up with the charity to support women's education, health, and empowerment. Shop today and use code Girl Gang to receive 20% off at Girl Gangthelabel.com. Show us your listening by tagging us on Instagram at Girl Gang the Label. Thank you so much for tuning in.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Hi, I'm Lauren Groper, founder and CEO of Repurpose.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

Perfect. Thank you so much. Of course. Thank you. So we are so excited. We've been able to use your product now for a couple weeks and like loving plant-based things and anything sustainable. Can you talk about what your product is before we go into the journey? Um, because it is essentially uh like plateware and utensils and everything, but made from plants.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Yes. So we are essentially tackling the plastic problem with what we say is plant-based compostable alternatives. So everything we make is made from plants. We use bamboo, we use sugarcane, cassava, corn, beets, anything that has a really high uh starch content. And we use very different production methods for the different products. But essentially we cover everything from trash bags to plates, bowls, cups, hot cups, cold cups, utensils, and we've just launched this new line of reusable products. So we've kind of have everything, the whole gamut. Um, if you need to use something disposable, we have a sustainable solution for that. If you want to go reusable, we have that. So we're really trying to cover everybody and um be the one-stop solution.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

And where did this um passion and purpose come from? Did you always picture being in this space? If you can kind of highlight early days of the idea sparking and like the need you saw. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

So I've been in the sustainability world for a really long time. I um have just always been passionate since I was really young, like in high school. Um, you know, I've been kind of like that tree hugger person and um wanted to do something in life where I would have a positive impact in the world from a really, really young age. So um in college I studied environmental studies and then um I did grad school for sustainable design. So I really was like, how can I actually do something that has this big impact? And I was very interested in design and architecture specifically, and obviously super interested in sustainability. And I'd read all these books that talked about how you know design can have such a big impact on the world if you change the way you design products and buildings and you know things in the world, if we if we think about where they're gonna end up and how they're made, then if we just did that in a better way, we wouldn't have to worry about kind of like, oh, we can't use that or we can't do this. You can do it if it's designed well. So um I I went into the green building space and spent a lot of time doing um green hotels and green, you know, office towers and condos and um basically stuff from the ground up and retrofitting buildings, and then um had this really cool opportunity to come to LA about 10 years ago, um, because I was in New York at the time, but um to do uh green sets and not only sort of just like what happens on a set, but the design of the sets and thinking about same thing, like thinking about if we are going to put up a set, where does it go in the end? What are the materials we're gonna use? How do we do sort of a lower carbon footprint when we're on set? And so um it became apparent early on that we were doing all these things to design the set in a more sustainable way, but then once we were on set, we still had to use like plastic water bottles and styrofoam containers, and it just felt like where are we going to all these great lengths and spending money to make it a more sustainable set? Yet then we're stuck with using these products because there was no alternative. And when you're on a set, it's temporary, you can't be washing plates and things like that. So that's kind of where I saw the need. And then I ended up um doing some work on the show um for Discovery Networks, where we were highlighting kind of the pioneers in um environmental businesses, like they were actually the people creating like electric cars and you know various things. Um and it really inspired me that you know you if you create a business and you actually make these products, like people will be interested in buying them and you can have a really big impact. And I didn't have a business background or really, you know, I hadn't thought about you know starting a business, but it just was very inspiring to see these different people doing it. And you know, I was young at the time and I just thought, like, why can't I do this? This seems great. And so that was the spark. It was like I feel really passionate about this, like there has to be an alternative to these things. I learned about using plants to make plastic, and it was just like this is so obvious. Like, we you know, somebody's gonna do it, so you know, I want to do it, and so that's that's when it started, and you know, it was very kind of like modest beginnings. It was like, let's just see what you know. I didn't have like the grand plan, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna disrupt the entire plastic industry. But as we sort of got into it in the early days, it became more and more that was the goal. Like, we want to be the replacement for what people are used to using on an everyday basis. And why can't we have something different?

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Even not having the grand plan, like what was your initial plan? Was it like one product or kind of like a year out? If you can kind of talk us through that, a lot of listeners are looking for to like make that first idea really happen. Um, and so if you can kind of go through like any preparation you did, if it was just a moment you woke up, you're like, screw it, I'm just gonna go for it. Today's the day.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Um, I think it was really the the first step was okay, we're we were actually on the set of a show called Entourage, which was on HBO um back in the day. And we we were trying to like, there's a lot of famous actors on there, so we were like, well, what if we get um cups that have our a logo like and a name really big on there so that these guys can like understand what we're doing, and it kind of educates and says this is made from plants or something really big just to get people excited about the idea. And this was sort of like pre-social media, so we couldn't, you know, promote on Instagram or Facebook or anything like that. But the thought was just like get people interested in the idea, and then maybe like a celebrity would get photographed for a magazine, like it was very old school. Um, but that was kind of the like, oh, let's just let's just do that, let's just make cups so that we can kind of get people interested in this because it looks like plastic, but it's not, and you know, that was really the initial seed. And so I had been connected with a few different people um around trying to find manufacturers, and actually um one of our current partners still, Brian Chung, he um he had a connection, uh, a family connection actually to some manufacturing groups in Taiwan who were making this product or similar products that we could then bring in um to use. And so it was just it was small, it was like, okay, let's bring in some product. And this was just out of my own pocket. I was like, okay, I'm I can pay X amount for a small amount of product and let's just see. And then it just kind of like the passion just went like it just kind of exploded. I was like, no, no, no, okay, we now we we can do this, but I just didn't I didn't quite understand, I don't think, you know, how much money you would really need. And like, you know, I had a very rough business plan, but it wasn't like, you know, I didn't have an MBA with the ideas of here's all here's all the things you need to do to start a business. It just kind of was like, okay, go, go, go. And that was sort of the start. And then we got a little more um thoughtful about how we were gonna roll out the rest. And I had partners, and you know, together we just sort of really thought through, okay, what's the next step and the next step and the next step? So we had this sort of grand plan eventually, but um, we really knew that it would just be baby steps, baby steps, and it was all kind of self-funded and bootstrapped from the beginning, and so we had to be really careful, like we couldn't be spending a lot of money. We had to be super, super careful. So I would have loved to have started with like, you know, 20 products, and but it just we had to kind of go one by one just because of you know, financial reasons really, and and bootstrapping. And so we did kind of go one by one, and it was just little wins, little wins, little wins that allowed us to keep going to the point that then we could really present something to an investor to say, hey, the these are the things we've done. Um, you know, now we have actual customers that want to buy this and they want to buy more, but we need more money to make more. And so that's kind of that was the journey. So I think for a lot of entrepreneurs, it is those those first steps are so hard because you don't necessarily have backing, financial backing. It is coming out of your own pocket, and you may want to go huge, but you you're limited by how much capital you have. So yeah, we went step by step.

SPEAKER_02 9:15

And just from um listening to other stories, we've personally never um gone a fundraising route, but just like researching people and learning stories, it seems like there, it's definitely more successful in initial rounds when you prove that demand first. And so although it seems like very daunting, um, I just think for like the long-term play, it might be the way to go. Just like really proving yourself in as small as an environment as you need to with the funds you have available. And then I think an investor just takes it a lot more seriously when they see even if you have a couple dozen die hard customers, that's so much better than like an idea. So I think everyone's route can play out differently, but it just seems like being able to handle that grit and really like blow it out of the park in a on a smaller level, even if you have this huge vision, might help have a brand where now we're sitting here, you know, 10 years later. So totally.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

I think it's I mean, I think investors do invest in ideas too, except that it is just really hard if you're a first-time entrepreneur and you have no track record and you know you have this big idea. I mean, actually, I think it's good that investors wouldn't invest in in the idea early on because we had no business doing it early on because we didn't really know what we were doing, to be honest. So it is like they're smart about that. I can see how from in an investor's shoes, like if there's someone that's had three successful companies and they know exactly what they're doing, I would invest in one of their new ideas just because they have that track record. But you know, I think like you said, it all depends on what kind of business it is. And you know, if you don't need outside investment, that's great. I mean, then you own the whole thing yourself and you can build it yourself. It's just a lot of businesses, especially in my case when you have a product, um, and in many cases when you have a product, you have to buy it before you sell it. And so you're putting out all this money before it even, you know, you get paid back. And so you're in a position where you kind of you do need funds and you know, a bank is not gonna come in at that point. So, you know, it's sort of a necessity, but I think if you can do it without, awesome. I mean, it really just like it depends on the business, but it is to scale to where we are now, there's no way we could do it without investment.

SPEAKER_02 11:29

The terms sustainability, eco-friendly, um, people that are wanting to get into that space, personally researching things that I personally believed were I'm going about sustainable living and diving more into it and realizing there's a lot of kind of like gray area in this space. Um, if you wouldn't mind um highlighting ways that listeners can start to adapt a truly sustainable lifestyle, those first baby steps, and if you wouldn't mind maybe debunking some myths that might be out there.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Sure. It's it's a very sustainability is such a a broad term, and obviously, like you said, there's there's different levels. So in our case, just to highlight kind of um where we come in, there you may have heard of the zero waste lifestyle where you really have no plastic in your life and everything is reusable and you carry a mug everywhere, you only use glass. It it actually is kind of hard. What the amazing thing is is there's now shops that where you can go and take like a glass bottle and refill shampoo and stuff like that. But it's only recently. I mean, it's only really in the last, I'd say, you know, year or two where that stuff has been available. But there are people that are very, very, you know, um just amazing about kind of adopting that lifestyle and going all the way. Um, but I think there are a lot of people who are just starting on the journey that maybe aren't ready to go there and or just sort of need a more convenient option. And so what we try and do is say, here, we're gonna meet you where you are at the beginning of your journey, maybe, and we will give you a better alternative than using a plastic disposable product. And so by using our product that's made from plants, you're there for doing something more sustainable than buying something made of petroleum. And why is it more sustainable? Because of the way we make it, so it takes 65% less CO2 to make, and so you have a lesser carbon footprint to make it, and it can be composted in an industrial composter where it disappears in three months. So it's we're tr we're trying to promote zero waste as well, but it's easier than let's say having to bring something wherever you go, although we like to say reuse first, repurpose second, because ultimately you should be reusing as much as you can. But what we're trying to do is say, hey, there's a problem here where in some cases you don't have a choice, you are gonna have to have sort of disposable products. So here's something that gives you that alternative. And before us, there was nothing that you could get in the store. You would go to the store and you would be stuck if you were having a party, you would have to buy you know a plastic cup. That was that. And what we're trying to say is no, you don't. Here's an option, it's either the same price or slightly, slightly more. And by slightly more, I mean 25 cents, 50 cents more. So we're not asking you to make a massive investment to change your lifestyle, it's tiny. And I understand some people still it's you know, it's a price sensitive product because it's something that's disposable at the end of the day. Um, so many people don't want to do that, but I think for those that have the interest in being more sustainable, what we're trying to do is say, you don't have to make a big investment. This this is a really easy switch, and you're doing so much by doing this. If everybody did this, we're making a huge impact in the world, and that is kind of that's the whole ethos of our company. The more the more products we sell, the more change we make. And we want people to to sort of understand that. And that you know, we talk about voting with dollars and what you can do and make a simple change. So what we're saying is here's the option, don't have to sacrifice very much. We have a sustainable product for you. Now, um, I think it's important to also, um, in terms of debunking the myths, talk about all the labeling in our category because I know it's confusing enough in sort of like the paleo, vegan, keto, you know, world in the food world, the beverage world. For us, um, the basic terms are compostable and biodegradable, and people confuse them all the time. So biodegradable um is interesting, it's a term that everybody kind of knows and they understand the meaning, except that there's no international certification for biodegradable because everything is technically biodegradable. This couch is biodegradable, your hat is biodegradable. Um, it just means that it will break down eventually. Compostable has a very specific uh timeline and it's an international standard you have to follow. So you can only call your product compostable if it actually breaks down in an industrial composter within 180 days. If that happens, and the reason we say industrial composter is because it's a controlled environment. So there's certain levels of heat and certain levels of humidity and certain levels of oxygen coming in, and all those three things together allow the product to be composted. We can't say backyard composter because the backyard in Los Angeles is different than the backyard in Alaska, that is different than New York, etc. So there's no standard. But an industrial composter gives you that standard, and then you can call your product compostable. So there's, I mean, you go on Amazon and it's biodegradable this and biodegradable that. And so you it's very hard. And there is a third-party um test and a third-party certification that is now becoming more popular called BPI, Biodegradable Products Institute. I mean, they use the word biodegradable, so it's all ultra confusing as well. But it it allows you, it basically is something that you can look out for, like the organic label that says this thing has been tested, it's gonna break down for sure. There's no false claims. Um, and so I think having those third-party tests are becoming more important. There's also another one that we have that um basically certifies that your product is bio-based or plant-based. Um, and so we put that as well on the product. It's it's a bio-based certification. So I think getting those certificate, and a lot of these stores that we're in, like Whole Foods and Walmart, etc., they they require that you have the sort of like they won't put you on the shelf. And so I think they're taking responsibility as well. But there is a lot, I mean, especially when you go online, it's just very confusing. And there's a lot of companies that are um put biodegradable and it doesn't necessarily mean very much, it may be, or or the word natural. Um, you know, it's it's like, okay, well, everything really technically kind of is natural. Um, but I think it's important for the consumer, I think, to do the homework a little bit just on the on the certifications, um, and for um the business owners to make it clear, you know, this is use use the terms that are internationally accepted, use the labels that are internationally accepted, and then everybody will understand. But the problem is everybody's using different terms, and so it's it's hard to differentiate. But I think we're concerned about like being plant-based and breaking down effectively.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

So I remember five or six years ago, our first company was a hair tie company, and there was a very large magazine that wanted to feature us in their sustainability issue. We made the hair ties in my apartment, um, so in San Diego, and so they were made in the USA, and we were like, you know, proudly made in San Diego and like told our story, and so they reached out and were like, we're doing this eco-friendly, sustainable issue. We want to feature your hair ties. And so they were asking about the materials and asking if they were biodegradable. And what I was getting stuck on was the glue that, um, because it was an elastic hair tie. And when looking up the meaning of biodegradable, I was so confused because it was like everything is. So I was like, wait a minute, I'm like, and it was before this like conscious consumer wave came in. But I kind of got, I mean, I would pay extra for all these things that were biodegradable at these little like mom and pop shops in San Diego. And though a lot of them might have been amazing, just kind of uh early on seeing that term, and then just through the process of trying to be a uh more conscious consumer, voting with my dollar, like you're saying, and trying to show up as much as I can without just getting overwhelmed with everything. That was just the biggest wake-up call I had because it was like biodegradable is eventually it is this. Half-life can be a hundred years this. I was like, wait, okay, so what's all what are these things I'm buying? What's actually good for the planet?

SPEAKER_00 19:48

It's wild out there. I mean, with our reusable products, they're totally 100% plant-based, 100% non-toxic. We don't say compostable on there because it's very thick and it will degrade. It just will take a little longer than that, 180 days, because it's meant to withstand a dishwasher and go in the microwave. And so it's hard to have both those things to be dishwasher safe, microwave safe, and then biodegrade because it's got to withstand that heat in the microwave and the dishwasher. So it will degrade, but we are sort of, I feel like we're taking the responsibility to say we're not gonna plaster biodegradable all over there or say compostable because it's not. But yet I see other companies doing similar things and they're writing biodegradable on there just because it's like a catch term that people think is biodegradable. But you know, it's I think the people that are creating these products need to be really responsible about the labels and and making it clear to people what's what. And I think we will see more of that.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

And they're targeting people that genuinely want to take the time and spend the money to better the planet with the stage it's in. Um, so I'd love on that note, I'd love to talk about the changes you've seen over the last 10 years and this wave of conscious consumerism and how consumers of your product are reacting. Um, and even though there's a lot of confusion out there, I think there's also just a lot of excitement and people are really prioritizing it. Um, so if you can kind of highlight the change in consumer behavior over the last decade.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Absolutely. I think in the beginning, um, you know, 10 years ago, it was I was in a little bit of a sustainability bubble because I worked in the space and my friends cared about it. And, you know, I sort of thought, well, everybody cares about this. Well, no, they actually didn't. And in the beginning, when we were pitching a lot of these sort of big retailers, because we always wanted to sort of be on the shelf against uh a plastic, they were like, Nobody's gonna buy this. Sorry, like come back next year kind of thing. And it was pretty discouraging because we were like, Why? You know, we have this great product. And they just were like, People don't people don't get it. I mean or if if they maybe thought it was something they're like, green is a fad, you know, this is not a lasting thing. And we're like, No, it's not a fad. This is the future and we're here. Um, so it was frustrating in those early days. It was, you know, we had little wins and there were certain places that would take us on, but it wasn't like mass scale. And I would say about five years ago the tide started turning and you know, people started becoming more conscious about it. We definitely were getting a lot more incoming emails about our products and you know, where can where can we buy them and we love this and um we started getting bigger and bigger accounts and and then I would say um maybe it was two, three years ago when a lot of the plastic bag bands started happening and there were um styrofoam bands happening and then eventually the straw um plastic straw bands started happening, the consumer awareness just kind of exploded. And I think you you know, you can kind of tie it in with the emergence of um smartphone social media, like just people becoming more aware in general, um, but really hyper aware I would say of this particular issue of plastic pollution. I'd say it's been about three years and now it's just a totally different uh consumer landscape. People want these products badly. And so we get now where we used to have to kind of like bang down the doors for people to listen, um, we get incoming calls and it's amazing, it's amazing, especially because we sort of struggled in those early years. Like those first five years were tough. People you know, we had we definitely had momentum, but it just you know, it wasn't at at that mass level. And now it you know, people understand plastic pollution. At first, you know, I don't think people even were aware of the issue, which is why they didn't really think they needed an alternative. But there's so much more awareness, all these bands, it's it's it's pretty incredible to see. It's it's been an incredible ride to see where things have gone. And I'm even hope more hopeful that it's gonna be even there's gonna be more awareness and you know it's gonna grow even bigger. And so it's just a great place to be because you know, this is what we wanted. We wanted to be the solution and we wanted to give people an alternative, and hopefully we become the norm. So we're just what is, and and plastic goes away.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

And then let's talk about the transition from the reusables that you went into. So the reusable space, I feel like, is so exciting, and the consumers are there. I'm sure you guys have felt it from the before the day you launched it. Um, so can you talk about kind of dreaming that up? Um, a little bit about the design process, um, anything else you want to highlight of launching that side of your business? Sure.

SPEAKER_00 24:37

So we um we had been doing combustibles for a long time and you know, had always sort of paid attention to the reusable space. But um, I'm a mom and I have two young girls, and um, you know, they you're sort of forced as a parent to make these choices that aren't always the best because sustainably from sustainably speaking, because um, again, there's not a lot of options. So with kids, you have to have something that's um unbreakable and durable, and you have to have so you're looking at plastic instead of ceramic, or maybe you could use wood, but then wood can't really go in the dishwasher, it's not convenient, you know, glass is gonna break. You can't like what could you use that's reusable that's not plastic for a kid? And there's just the the options really narrow down because you want the functionality of plastic, but not the chemicals, and so that was sort of the initial spark. Like, this is gross. I don't want to be putting this plastic thing in the dishwasher and over and over and then giving it to my kid or microwaving, you know, some pasta on a and this bowl and then giving it to my kid. I just didn't feel comfortable with that, and so the thought was, well, we can use our stuff if we just make it a little thicker, you know, we can use totally plant-based and add some more fibers to it. And we did a lot of testing and you know, prototyping and looked at what was kind of on the market and what we could do to kind of enhance the experience for the kids. And we used, you know, my kids and other kids as test kids to see like what works and the separation thing is key because kids like to also keep their food separate. So, um, and we also wanted to have kind of this modular nesting situation so you could put everything away easily in your cupboard, and um, we wanted to make sure that it could go in the dishwasher, it could go in the microwave, and so you know, it just seemed like wow, this is something that's would be an amazing product, and you know, we now have people that love our brand and love what we're doing on the compostable side, like we think they will love what we're doing here, and it just gave us an opportunity to kind of jump into a whole new category in an in a way that felt like a really authentic, kind of natural extension of what we were doing, and so we're gonna do more. So exciting. Um, we started for kids, but I think you know, guess what? Adults like it too. So, yeah, we're gonna be doing more for adults and more, you know, things to take on the go and that kind of thing, and collaboration. So it's just a really fun space, just also have a design background, so to be able to kind of dive into that again. We work with the team of um industrial designers, but they have all these cool ideas and it's fun. It's just fun.

SPEAKER_02 27:15

Can you let our listeners know where to purchase your product, learn more about your brand and sustainable living? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 27:23

So um our reusable products are available at repurpose.com, just like it sounds. And we uh will be putting up our compostable products on there soon as well. You can also find us at 15,000 stores nationwide, and on our website, we've got uh you can enter your zip code and then find out where um your local store is. Um, a lot of information is in our social channels at repurpose. Um, and we have a pretty extensive FAQ and impact page on our website to learn more on the sustainability side.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you liked this episode, please take a moment to leave us a review. It helps us out so much. Remember to head to GirlGangthelabel.com to redeem your 20% off discount with code Girl Gang. Take a moment to remind the females in your life that they inspire you and support your local Girl Gang.