With combined degrees from Northeastern, Stanford, Harvard and Yale, you would expect this power couple to be on Wall Street or CEOs of a Forbes flaunted company. Instead, Sam Palmer and Jennifer Feller have founded ReFleece, a company that designs iPad and tablet sleeves out of reclaimed fabrics. They work with some of America’s best companies (whom we like even more now!) such as Woolrich, Patagonia and Polartec.
Rather than throwing away extra textiles, the companies sort them and save them for ReFleece. They send everything from old scraps to damaged or returned garments that cannot be donated to charity. They won’t partner with just anyone; the company has to have quality materials and be eco-conscious about their wool, water, dyes and petroleum use too.
Don’t be afraid that old wool or felt isn’t going to keep your products safe and sound. With the Classic collection, all the items are double lined with recycled exteriors and upcycled fabrics on the inside. The exterior wool also resists wear, dirt and spills. The Wild Side collection is reversed with the colorful upcycled fabrics on the outside making each sleeve unique.
Recently ReFleece partnered with J.Crew and made a limited edition run of sleeves made from vintage US Army tents. And 2014 is looking stellar for the brand. ReFleece has all sort of new stuff coming out for spring: an iWallet with room for the essentials, 4Square organizing modules for desktop, a City Bag that can carry a laptop, and some sweet little zip bags that work for toiletries, corralling cables or whatnots of all types. They will also start working with Ibex Outdoor Clothing, creating a source for more magical wools to work with.
Stay tuned for what else these braniac sustainable pioneers have up their, ahem, sleeve on their blog.
