Company transforms Great Lakes plastic into clothing

By Haleigh Vaughn

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    WEST MICHIGAN, Michigan (WXMI) — The mission to reduce, reuse, and recycle is on the mind of many nowadays. For some, it started at a very young age. At just 17 years old, Jackson Riegler started a project that transformed plastic into clothing. Jackson, a Muskegon native, was inspired by the Great Lakes at a young age.

In high school, Jackson started making waves with an internship at the GVSU Annis Water Research Center. “That was what started to open my eyes to how many issues there were towards the Great Lakes watershed,” said Riegler. “At the time, there was a $300 million budget cut and proposal for Great Lakes funding, and that was the last straw for me. It sort of pushed me to act in some way.”

Jackson then dug into his own pockets to fund his passion. “It was the easiest thing to do at first with money I’d saved up landscaping,” said Riegler. “Print some shirts and donate a portion of those profits to nonprofits working to preserve the Great Lakes.”

Driven by his passion for the environment and desire to make a positive impact, Jackson founded Oshki in 2017. At the time, he was only a senior in high school. Oshki is a local business that transforms plastic from the Great Lakes and United States into durable, sustainable apparel.

Oshki means “fresh” in Ojibwe, which is a tribe native to the Great Lakes. According to the Oshki website, Jackson chose the name to honor the Ojibwe people’s sustainable lifestyle and their commitment to preserving the Great Lakes for future generations.

After graduation, he took his mission to the University of Michigan. “I went to Michigan and got some grant funding and started to realize how the manufacturing process works for apparel companies, and how damaging it is to the environment,” said Riegler.

How does the process work? It all begins with recycling centers. They process and sanitize the plastic so that it’s able to be used on a post-consumer level. “They chip it into little pellets, and then spin it into polyester yarn,” said Riegler. “Once that process is done, it can be used just as any other virgin polyester material.”

The hoodie he was wearing during the interview with FOX 17’s Haleigh Vaughn was comprised of about 18 plastic bottles worth of waste, all from the United States.

100% of the plastic that Oshki reuses comes from the United States, and a portion is pulled directly from the Great Lakes region. According to the Oshki website, over 22 million pounds of plastic waste enters the Great Lakes each year. That plastic is threatening the health of vital wildlife and ecosystems. At Oshki, they are determined to make a difference.

“You may see on the news these large Pacific garbage patches in the ocean and think that, ‘Oh, the Great Lakes don’t have that,'” said Riegler. “But in reality, 90% of the plastic that ends up in the Great Lakes, ends up on beaches. So, it’s much more of a grass roots led effort.”

Jackson’s goal is to one day source all of his material from plastic in Michigan, creating a circular economy. “It’s my focus moving forward, just continue to increase that local aspect,” said Riegler. “A lot of companies are focusing on sourcing sustainability. But, their definition is a lot different than mine. In my opinion, the global shipping industry is very damaging, very fossil fuel intensive.”

Oshki is the first apparel company to focus solely on the use of U.S. plastic waste in their recycling process. According to their website, their ultimate goal is to achieve a fully closed-loop supply chain, where all plastics are sourced exclusively from Oshki’s clean up efforts.

After six years building his business, Jackson knows there’s still a long way to go. “There’s a lot of ideas that I have moving forward to increase our efforts and keep the Great Lakes clean,” said Riegler.

To support his business and reduce plastic waste, you can purchase some of his apparel by visiting his website. Five percent of all of their proceeds go towards preserving the Great Lakes!

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