Bureo Inc

When Patagonia’s Tin Shed Ventures first invested in Bureo Inc in 2014, we had a hunch it was going to be big. Ten years later, the California startup has kept over 10 million pounds of discarded plastic fishing nets out of the ocean to be turned into recycled materials for clothing and gear. That’s the equivalent poundage of roughly 283 shipping containers or 2.5 million Chicago deep dish pizzas. Bureo got its start transforming fishing nets into material for skateboards and sunglasses. When we linked arms to help them scale, our product innovation team spent years of R&D with Bureo to develop NetPlus material, a recycled nylon worthy of high-quality products such as our Baggies and Down Sweaters, and recycled HDPE for hat brims. Our goal has always been to develop and strengthen waste-based supply chains so other brands can use them, too. As of 2024, more than 20 brands are using NetPlus. It’s powerful proof that product innovation paired with investment can move mountains (of fishing nets). To see how it all started, check out our short film below. https://lnkd.in/gNgVXmD9

🌊 New Ecosystem Member Episode 🌊 Our guest this episode is David M. Stover, co-founder of Bureo Inc. If you've seen some of my posts/comments on her before, I have a little bit of a bone to pick with the phrase 'ocean-bound plastic'. It's a vague term that is used to greenwash not just the brand using it, but our entire economic system where we 'accept' that plastic will end up in the ocean. I like cleaner oceans as much as the next guy, but you have to turn off the tap once the bath water starts overflowing. That's why I have been a big fan of Bureo - they take a systemic approach to making sure that discarded fishing nets (one of the worst forms of plastic pollution in our oceans especially for sea life) are brought back into use as hat brims, Baggies shorts and other gear rather than dumped in the ocean. Make sure to watch this great doc that Patagonia created about Bureo (a longtime supporter of Bureo and you can find Bureo's material in many Patagonia products now: https://lnkd.in/eSJzwAtS) - https://lnkd.in/eXxNiDkh And you can find the podcast episodes at: Apple Podcasts - https://lnkd.in/ecPF4avw Spotify - https://lnkd.in/egQTZWe2 #plastics #oceans