Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of North Shore
Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
EP #48 - Taylor Dubose: Breaking Barriers in Sustainable Style
Discover how Taylor Dubose, the innovative mind behind SUS Brand, is rewriting the narrative on plastic waste. From his experiences in product development at Fortune 500 companies to launching his sustainability-focused business during the pandemic, Taylor shares a personal journey that's both inspiring and insightful. Learn how his company is transforming discarded plastic bottles into stylish, functional bags and backpacks, and why only a shocking 5% of plastics in the U.S. are truly recycled. Taylor offers a fresh perspective on the changes needed in the recycling industry and how SUS Brand aims to lead the charge.
Outside the world of sustainable fashion, Taylor's passion for sports shines through as he discusses his background in lacrosse, basketball, and soccer. Drawing from his experiences on and off the field, he reveals how these activities enrich his approach to business and life. Taylor also opens up about the complexities of navigating his biracial identity, sharing how these challenges have shaped his resilience and empathy. Tune in for an engaging conversation that blends entrepreneurship, environmental stewardship, and personal growth.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Yvonne Godfrey.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Taylor Dubose, and he is the owner and founder of Sussbrand. We're excited to learn as much about him as we possibly can. Let's begin, taylor, how are you today?
Speaker 3:Hi, yohan, great Thanks for having me. I'm doing great how about yourself.
Speaker 2:I'm fantastic, thank you, and thank you for asking, so we're thrilled, we're delighted, to have you here. Taylor, can you tell us about your business?
Speaker 3:Sure. So SUS was founded in 2020. As you hear and see, a lot of different businesses. Especially during the pandemic time, you had a little bit more time to think and so we started because we saw plastic from masks, bags, you know, when you wipe down your groceries anything along those lines and so, seeing that in the greater Boston area, I felt like I needed to do something about that. So bags and backpacks is really our bread and butter, and our mission is to reduce and remove plastics from waste, from landfills, waterways, oceans and we do that by making our bags and backpacks out of recycled polyester, recycled plastic bottles.
Speaker 2:OK, very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Speaker 3:Sure.
Speaker 2:So, Taylor, how did you get into this business?
Speaker 3:Yes, good question. So, along the seeing waste on the streets and seeing it on videos and in the ocean, I have a background in product development. On videos and in the ocean, I have a background in product development, so I've worked for multiple Fortune 500 companies acting as a product manager or being a product manager, and so when I saw this issue, I felt like there was some solutions and to reduce that waste, to reduce that plastic. So, after doing several months and even more studying and research, I decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship, because being able to solve these problems is something that's really vital to our environment and the people around us.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. So what are some myths or misconceptions that you've discovered in your industry?
Speaker 3:that you've discovered in your industry. Yes, so I would say the biggest myth that we like to call out is what we call recycling but actually is not recycling, and so the statistics for the US specifically say that only 5% of plastic ever gets recycled, and so that means 95% of the plastic that you throw into that blue bin or wherever else it ends up going never gets recycled. So we call that out because we think it's important for one, people to be aware of it more, but also, two, our bags and backpacks and hats. We call out three bottle, 12 bottle, because that's a reference number and gives you a reference for how many plastic bottles we repurpose to make our bags and backpacks. And everyone knows what a plastic bottle or how much plastic is in a plastic bottle. So giving that physical representation is something really big and also grows the awareness of our lack of recycling in the US.
Speaker 2:Interesting. Ok, so outside of work, Taylor, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:So I am a sports and advocate for athletics. So I have a background in lacrosse, basketball and soccer. My dad was a coach for 20 plus years for basketball and I played lacrosse in college at a school called Western New England. So I've played there at four years and I was a captain. But I love to still play that and then I'll get out and play golf not exactly well and then I also do snowboarding. So I try to get a mixture in both seasons or multiple seasons.
Speaker 2:Busy, very busy. That's excellent.
Speaker 3:I try to yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:So let's change gears. Taylor, can you describe one of life's challenge that you rose above and can now say because of it, you're better, you're stronger, what comes to your mind?
Speaker 3:and too hardship or too difficult for myself, but coming from a background where I'm biracial, you know my dad is African-American, my mom is Caucasian there's always a lot of misconception in my background of you know how I'm represented in a prominent, prominently or mostly white school that I went to in high school, and being able to know and start to understand people from different backgrounds, while having a multicultural background, was something that I struggled at first, as far as not in my identity. But being able to learn from my parents and then also grow into myself as an individual took a little bit of time, but I think sports and some of these hardships have helped grow me into a bigger and better person.
Speaker 2:Well said. So, taylor, can you please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about Suss brand?
Speaker 3:Sure. So I would say the one thing that people should remember about Suss is that each time you make that purchase or you support us by sharing or anything like, that is another time or another opportunity to repurpose that plastic. That is, of that, 95% that is never getting recycled in the US, and so when you support us, you're supporting and helping the environment and the planet. So that's one important thing that I would mention.
Speaker 2:Okay, very important. So, taylor, how can our listeners learn more about SUS?
Speaker 3:Sure. So I would say you can follow us on Instagram or Facebook, and then our website is wwwsusmadecom, so susmadecom, and then Instagram and Facebook. So Instagram is at sus underscore M-A-D-E, and then Facebook is at sus M-A-D-E number one. So both of those are, or all three of those are great outlets to learn a little bit more about us.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, beautiful. Thank you so much, taylor, for being with us today, for sharing your information with our listeners. We really appreciate you being on the show as well, and we wish you and your business all the very best moving forward.
Speaker 3:You're on. Great Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast me. Thank you.