In Dialogue: Borobabi’s Carolyn Butler

One of the quiet pleasures of writing for Forbes is getting to spotlight extraordinary businesswomen out there every day putting paid to the lie that women can’t succeed on their own. Women remain well behind men in securing startup capital and advancement opportunities, which means that our needs remain treated as secondary in this economy. But women entrepreneurs like Borobabi’s Carolyn Butler are out there every day finding new opportunities to serve their communities, especially other women, by owning and operating businesses that not only fill an economic gap, but provide career springboards for countless others.

Liz Elting: Hello, Carolyn! Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. As a mom myself, I know all too well the frustration of buying baby clothes. Kids grow so incredibly fast, so a favorite onesie today might be too small tomorrow. That means there’s a never-ending cycle from purchase to discarding and back to purchase. Can you tell us a little bit about Borobabi and what sets you apart?

Carolyn Butler: Borobabi is America’s first fully circular retailer. What sets us apart from other retailers is that we take all of our clothing back, and what’s more—we incentivize parents to return that Borobabi outgrown clothing by giving store credit. Unlike other retailers, we take responsibility for the full lifecycle of all the products we carry, because we don’t believe in shifting the onus to the consumer, the burden belongs to us. We source organic raw materials, we upcycle all of our clothing until it’s used to its fullest potential, and then we recycle and compost all our garments to make sure they never end up in a landfill.

Elting: There’s been a lot of talk for literally decades about what I suppose we could call “waste culture.” Why does so much clothing end up in landfills? Why isn’t donation a viable option?

Butler: Fast fashion is the reason behind the massive increase in clothing waste over the past 15 years. These companies have successfully convinced people that clothing is a disposable item, when it’s not. So much work goes into each garment, and it’s amazing that people throw away more than half of their clothes—less than a year after purchase. The amount of clothing waste we generate is astounding; more than 80lbs of clothing per year, per American is thrown out. 

Clothing ends up in landfills for many reasons: some people directly throw it in the garbage, while others donate. But the reality of donation is that only about 20% is resold through local charity retailers. More largely, up to 45% is exported for sale to developing nations, where it disrupts the local economies. The remainder of discarded clothes are landfilled or incinerated. What’s shocking—less than 1% of clothing is actually recycled in a closed loop system. 

To scale up and recycle more clothing as a society, we need to invest in changes. We lack a collection infrastructure to group and sort large quantities of clothing. Secondly, the composition of clothing today makes it inherently difficult to recycle in practice. Most clothing is made from blended fibers, like polyester-cotton for example. The more blended the fibers are, the more technically difficult—and more costly—they are to recycle. You’ll hear that it’s technically viable, but it’s a challenge economically. What’s more, numerous toxic chemicals are added during clothing manufacture that are not disclosed or regulated, which presents additional challenges when scaling recycle operations. 

The US lacks any real salient policy around post-consumer textile waste generation or the need for clothing collection and recycling. However, as developing nations begin to ban the import of our waste, Borobabi is looking forward to the effect on the American consciousness.  We’re grateful for the efforts of the EU, who is starting to ban incineration, and promoting the collection of post consumer textile waste. And our competitors are working hard too—even H&M is investing heavily in recycling technology, which is a cue that they understand more restrictive policies are inevitable. I foresee manufacturers and retailers of the future being held to account for the waste they generate. At Borobabi, we believe the responsibility should not solely fall on the consumer and the community to manage the waste our products create.

Elting: Borobabi is part of a larger trend of “products as a service” businesses, from monthly clothing boxes to makeup to food products, but Borobabi stands out as being one of very few such companies specializing in re-use rather than sale. Do you think we’ll see more of that as time goes on, spreading to a wider range of industries?

Butler: We will—and it’s not a matter of “if,” it’s a matter of “when.” We simply cannot keep creating waste at today’s rates in perpetuity. That statement applies across industries—textiles, plastics, and electronics are most certainly in the spotlight. I suspect the rise of re-use will be attributed to a combination of policy and shifts in consumer behavior, with the latter being more influential in the US. Take the second-hand clothing market for example, which was virtually non-existent 15 years ago. Pre-loved clothing is now expected to be 20% of the American closet within the next 10 years. This is driven in large part by Gen Zs, who take real pride in participating in re-sale and rental. This generation understands the positive impact re-use has on the planet—and it’s not a passing fad. For Gen Z, climate change is not a political issue—it’s a reality. We see it regularly at Borobabi: Gen Z’s are buying pre-loved baby shower gifts—something completely taboo for my generation. For younger consumers it’s much more than just a purchase—it’s a way to make a statement about their values. 

Elting: Let’s talk a bit about you and your experience as a founder. What led you to found Borobabi?

Butler: Borobabi was born soon after my daughter, Avellina. When she was just a few months old, I was already practically swimming in piles of outgrown clothing. As a chemical engineer, I was interested in understanding how the US recycles clothing responsibly, and was surprised to learn that we don’t—we send almost 20 million tons of textile waste to landfill each year. It struck me as inefficient, wasteful and extremely detrimental to the environment. Clothing is massively underutilized, and it still has so much intrinsic value after just one user—our clothing waste is valued at a staggering $460b per year. Taking my technical hat off and viewing the issue as a mom, I found it a challenge to find the best and safest products for my daughter that were affordable—organic products are priced at such a premium they are out of reach for most American families. I knew my technical background and the principles of circular economy were a perfect match for this sector. So we created a platform that gives parents access to the highest quality organic clothing, while reducing the environmental impact of fashion. 

Elting: Women remain wildly underrepresented in business ownership, and in 2020 received a paltry 2.3% of venture capital funding. Did you run up against any gendered obstacles in your hunt for startup capital?

Butler: I’ve run head-first into gendered obstacles, and it’s a challenge I’m happy to face. Has it been difficult—most definitely. In one instance, while discussing our financial model on a call, only my male co-founder was addressed, as if this female engineer couldn’t tackle the math!  Quite frankly though, I think the bigger challenge is explaining why buying into circular economy models is the best choice for investment. Venture capitalists simply aren’t familiar enough yet with the concept, and they’re quick to anchor us to other companies who are fundamentally quite different, like Rent The Runway or thredUP. True circular models have concrete potential to unlock the triple bottom line, and they also provide sustainable (pun intended) profitability far in excess of wasteful linear systems. Borobabi aims to be the first company to prove circular profitability is possible in the US.  

Elting: Borobabi wants to change the way we consume childrens clothes, but fast retail businesses like Amazon, which place a premium on speed, efficiency, variety, and low prices at the expense of employee wellbeing and environmental impact. How do you face that challenge?

Butler: I don’t underestimate the power of mothers. Becoming a mother is a transformative experience, and often goes hand in hand with becoming more aware. We care in new ways about what we eat, the products we use, and how things are made. We’re learning our societal power, our purchasing power and our environmental impact. Women control a staggering 70-80% of all consumer purchasing. And their behavior is shifting—we saw it firsthand during COVID. Mothers are seeking out products and companies that have a mission they align with, and products that are safe for their children—because every parent wants what’s best for their child and for their future. At Borobabi, we’re recognizing, honoring, and harnessing our power—by moms, for moms, with moms.