Lauren Choi's The New Norm Innovates Sustainable Textiles from Recycled Plastics
Lauren Choi, an engineering student at Johns Hopkins, founded The New Norm with the mission of transforming red Solo cup plastic waste into fabric. In 2019, she led a team that developed an extruder capable of spinning recycled plastic into textile filaments, collecting thousands of cups through campus fraternities.
A weaving class at a Baltimore maker space produced the first fabric sample, establishing the foundation for The New Norm. After graduating in 2020, Choi secured grant funding from Johns Hopkins, Garnier, Reynolds Consumer Products, and Hefty’s parent company to further advance product development.
The venture encountered challenges due to variability and contamination in recycled plastics, requiring extensive trial and error to identify suitable suppliers. Support from Gaston College’s Textile Technology Center and the Polymers Center in North Carolina helped create a soft, wearable textile from extruded plastics with the goal of plug-and-play production.
The New Norm launched its first direct-to-consumer collection in late 2023, using 5,000 upcycled cups. This collection sold out within two months. Production involves yarn facilities in North Carolina and Virginia, with Brooklyn-based 3D knitting producing seamless sweatshirts and beanies priced between $45 and $85.
The New Norm operates with a lean staff of three to twenty-five employees. Choi has since relocated to Boston to pursue an MBA at MIT and is actively seeking large-brand B2B pilots to scale the material production. The sustainable textile market was valued at $29.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $71 billion by 2031.
