Lauren Choi's The New Norm Upcycles Plastic Waste into Sustainable Textiles
Lauren Choi, an engineering student at Johns Hopkins University, founded The New Norm to transform post-consumer plastics into textiles. In 2019, her team developed an extruder to spin plastic waste, collecting thousands of red cups through campus fraternities to create textile filaments. Following a weaving class at a Baltimore maker space, Choi produced a wearable fabric sample that became the foundation for The New Norm.
The startup benefited from grants provided by Johns Hopkins, Garnier, and Reynolds Consumer Products to further develop the technology. Its first direct-to-consumer collection was released in late 2023, utilizing 5,000 upcycled cups and selling out within two months. Yarn production takes place at facilities in North Carolina and Virginia, while a Brooklyn-based manufacturer produces seamless sweatshirts and beanies through 3D knitting. These garments, priced between $45 and $85, feature pastel hues derived from the cups themselves, use continuous filaments, and reduce microplastic shedding.
The New Norm operates with a lean team ranging from 3 to 25 employees and aims to scale production through pilot projects with large brands in a business-to-business model. Production volume has increased significantly from tens of pounds per run to thousands within two years. The global sustainable textile market was valued at $29.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $71 billion by 2031. This growth is set against the backdrop of global plastic production, the challenges of recycling, and the increasing role of upcycling in addressing plastic pollution.
