Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Recycled polyester is the fashion industry's go-to sustainability fix — but the loop leaks. 99% of it comes from plastic bottles, not old clothes or ocean waste — and once those bottles become shirts, almost none of them will ever be recycled again. This talk explores how the industry ended up here, why the label "recycled" doesn't mean what most people think, and what it would take to build a loop that actually closes. Speaker: Howard Ly, MBA '26
The LOWkeynotes Program features a series of nine-minute 'keynote-style' presentations from Stanford Graduate School of Business students about an idea they think could change lives, organizations, and the world. This presentation was delivered for the March 2026 LOWkeynotes season.
Recycled polyester is the fashion industry's go-to sustainability fix — but the loop leaks. 99% of it comes from plastic bottles, not old clothes or ocean waste — and once those bottles become shirts, almost none of them will ever be recycled again. This talk explores how the industry ended up here, why the label "recycled" doesn't mean what most people think, and what it would take to build a loop that actually closes. Speaker: Howard Ly, MBA '26
The LOWkeynotes Program features a series of nine-minute 'keynote-style' presentations from Stanford Graduate School of Business students about an idea they think could change lives, organizations, and the world. This presentation was delivered for the March 2026 LOWkeynotes season.
