Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

Nontoxic and Plastic-Free: Mary Bemis’ Vision for Reprise Activewear

Mary Bemis, founder of Reprise –Leggings made of plants not plastic
Mary Bemis

To say that I’m passionate about finding alternatives for plastic is an understatement. We’re in an uphill battle with the oil companies. So for Plastic Free July I wanted to mainly highlight what we wear. And nowhere is there more plastic than in activewear. So, I’m thrilled to share this interview with Mary Bemis, the founder of Reprise Activewear. Neither a fashion designer nor an expert in chemistry, Mary saw a problem she wanted to solve and believed it was worth trying to do.

Katya/NKM: What is your background? Is it in fashion?
Mary: It’s not. I started out in finance when I first moved to New York. I was doing the whole traditional banking thing and got really burned out. I wanted to do something different and started to explore –like you do in your mid-20s. I found myself wondering, what do I really want to do?

I started to learn about how much clothing is made of plastic and then educated myself further. I didn’t go back to school for another degree. Still, I went to night school at FIT and studied Sustainable Design Entrepreneurship. I learned about sourcing, manufacturing, and sustainable marketing there, which really helped.

That’s great. So many people are just learning about issues of sustainable fashion, and they’re interested in it as a career path, but going back to school is really daunting. So, I love that you found a less intensive avenue that still gave you the necessary information.
Yes, it felt very approachable and achievable as a way to learn the basics. Also, meeting in person and finding other people who were also passionate about the topic was a great way to start.

People are just twigging on the issue of plastics in our clothing right now. What was your “A-HA moment” with that?
It’s such a great question. And for me, it really was an A-HA moment! I had just moved to a studio apartment in New York and needed to downsize. I decided to resell a bunch of clothing on Poshmark. It was the first time I had sold clothing online. So, I was very detailed and wrote the material composition for every item.

And I found myself writing polyester over and over again. Honestly, I was surprised because everyone knows the feeling of cotton, for example. But my sweatshirts, leggings, and pants all felt different but were all made of the same things!

I just Googled it, and that was the moment. I was like, wow, polyester is essentially plastic. And I had no idea. I’d done a good job of trying to remove plastic from other parts of my life. I had transitioned to cleaner items in personal care/beauty and cleaning products, so plastic in my clothes didn’t make sense.

And it didn’t sit right with me that I didn’t know what my clothes were made from!

So you realize your clothes were made from plastic and now it’s A-HA! I’ll work to solve this problem! Okay, maybe not that instantaneously, but I really love this story. It’s not your typical I went to school for fashion, blah, blah blah… Instead, it feels like such an every person kind of thing –except you actually took the next step and decided I’m going to make a company. So how did you do it? I mean, what was the thought process?
Right. That’s a big, drastic next step! I feel fortunate that it was a time when I was young and looking for a life change, a new challenge, and I was really open to possibilities. So, it felt like, Here’s a big opportunity, and I’m really excited about it.

I’m super passionate about it. Initially, I was primarily concerned with the environmental part and microplastic problems. I was horrified. And I felt like everyone needed to know about this. I needed to broadcast this, and it started as, you know, let me try to.

And I’ve always been an active person and lived in leggings.  So I started trying to buy better, but honestly, I couldn’t find activewear brands made without plastic that fit.

Of course, some brands have been doing this for a long time, but they’re very small and niche, and they didn’t have the aesthetic of what I was looking for.

©Reprise Activewear

This is such a challenge when you first realize what your clothes are made from. I wanted to immediately replace all polyester with better materials, but synthetics are so dominant that it is difficult to get rid of them!
Yes, and so while it seems like a giant leap to go from idea to execution, I was in this moment of being 25 years old and wanting to change the world. So I thought to myself, Okay, let’s just do it. The timing worked because I was in a transition period and had the energy and motivation.

Call it mid-20s motivation!

That’s brilliant. Our tagline, as it were, at No Kill Mag is, The Future is a Place You Invent. And stories like yours prove it. There’s so much innovation happening to help improve our relationship with the environment. We don’t hear about it because fear is what sells. So I love this story. How long have you had Reprise?
Six years.

Wow!
Yeah, I know, it’s wild. I’m like, whoa, where did the time go? We launched a crowdfunding campaign. We did a Kickstarter in April of 2018.

Reprise made it through COVID-19 when so many small brands went under. Is there more awareness about the issue of synthetics than when you started?
Absolutely! It’s been exhilarating to see the past two years. Things have totally changed. Like any entrepreneur, there have been moments where I’m like, This isn’t working. Do I still do it? As I mentioned earlier, we were very focused on the microplastic issue when I launched. I couldn’t understand how people could learn about this and not want to take action.

I love the copy on your site that states: We’re one of the only brands making leggings without plastic bottles.  Because the whole thing with sustainability is it’s such a learning process. When we started No Kill Mag we were completely on board with the recycling bottles into leggings.

But at the same time my intuition was like, but is this okay? But it was what we were being told. And then there was new information: yes, you can recycle plastic bottles into leggings but the circularity stops there. They are now destined to a landfill. So is this the best solution? It’s excellent marketing for bottle makers because it relaxes people about the plastic problem.  But it’s still 100% synthetic, not breathable, and not good for you.

So, I was really excited when we discovered Reprise Activewear.
Yes I tend to be more passive in my communication. Someone was consulting me, and she said, you need to be bold and say it. And everyone knows that clear messaging works. And I never want to knock sustainability initiatives. The water bottles to leggings really got people excited and learning.

I had friends at the time who said my leggings are made from 16 bottles, and I’m keeping them from landfill! And it is better than the virgin polyester. But my personal stance is that something natural and fiber-based is better.

from Reprise Activewear website

Absolutely – it’s better for the environment in the long term.
Yes and it was really, really interesting to realize that when you lead with sustainability, people are interested. Still, it’s not enough for them to change their habits. Of course, there were amazing people who knew the mission, connected with it immediately and got it.

But too many people said, Oh yeah, that’s great to know. Microplastics are harmful –but still were out there buying Lululemon.

It wasn’t until the Center for Environmental Health came out with a study finding high levels of BPA in most major activewear brands that more people looked at the issue. First, it was 11 times over the safe limit and then over 40 times.

It was just last year and led to a huge shift for people understanding: oh, I had no idea that the stuff I wear every day is not great for me. And then it was easy for us to work with that message and add, and oh by the way, it’s also shedding microplastics. So there was a massive shift to wanting nontoxic activewear.

So that’s what we’ve become known for, and it’s interesting because we haven’t changed the product at all. But the messaging went from “environmental and microplastics” to “nontoxic”, which is a little vague.

What does nontoxic mean? What are you nontoxic from? But it’s been encouraging to see people now questioning and saying, oh, wow, I had no idea. I didn’t know it was made from plastic and had these chemicals on it.

I’m super thankful for their research because it totally changed the business. And we’ve grown a ton from that. And it’s interesting to see that people are a bit more concerned with the chemicals on their own body! In order of importance that ranks first and then the microplastics and environmental part is second or third.

So that was an interesting shift and total change.

Yes I think that’s such an interesting thing to, bring up because with No Kill magazine, I’m always thinking  how can we get more people on board? How can we get them to see how their choices affect the environment? And I have realized that humans are naturally self-centered.

So if you can connect it to them personally or to their children, if they have kids, those are the game changers. If you talk about hormone disruption and girls having periods way too young or testosterone dropping for boys… I’m like, you want your boys to be able to make babies, right? (laugh)
Yes, people then recognize, oh, this is a real issue, I’m trying to avoid this in other parts of my life so maybe in my clothing...

I’m happy to make that the main message while knowing that, like for me, the personal mission is more on the environmental side. But it’s the same product with the same benefits. For people and our environment!

What’s your vision for the future of your company? Say 5-10 years out. I know this is a big question!
Big picture: I want the brand to be seen as a leader in the material innovation space, trying to find a way to be as clean and plastic-free as possible. I’ve always felt stuck because we can’t claim plastic-free because of that tiny bit of spandex. And I’m hopefully first on the list for any plant-based, bio-based spandex.

I go to many fabric conferences, and there are early prototypes. But they’re just not scalable or commercially available for small brands yet. And many that claim they are bio-based are like 70% corn. And I’m not convinced that’s the best solution.

But we are coming out this fall with a fully biodegradable performance wear line.  So we have the plant-based fabric that we have now, which is Tencel. I love Tencel, it’s great but it’s definitely best for low impact. You can run in it and sweat in it, but people prefer it for things like travel, errands, and yoga.

But our customers also want something that’s super high impact and has the performance and feel of your traditional synthetic. So we’ve partnered with a factory in Portugal that’s probably one of the first of its kind, creating biodegradable, nontoxic fabrics that will biodegrade in nature within five years.

That material sounds amazing. So many things claim they can biodegrade, but in tests, it takes longer than anticipated, or they leech chemicals or can only do it in super specific environments. A material like the one you’re describing is a definite game changer.
It is! But going back to your question we also really want to be a leader in the education side of things. For example, I love it when I tell people about materials and they say Oh I had no idea my clothing was made of plastic! Being able to lead that conversation and share this with people is a big part of my personal mission.

I really want a platform of teaching and education and showing change. And also as a brand –now and in the future–  being super transparent about our process. Nothing’s perfect, but we’re testing cool new technologies and working on creating nontoxic and plastic-free clothes with as low impact as possible.

I love how you’re transparent about that. No, it’s not perfect yet, but you’re working on it.
What are 3 things people can do to improve their relationship with the planet?

Number one is that we should continue to educate and focus on the positive and actionable.  Negative news is everywhere, especially when it comes to the climate.

And I think talking about what is possible makes it feel less overwhelming and more something doable. That you can make a change.

And so then, my following answer is just to pick one thing to swap out from plastic to a better material.

It was what I was trying to do when I first started: finding one product every couple of months to slowly make a change. It becomes super overwhelming when you look at your entire closet, lineup of personal care products, or kitchen. So start with one.

My final point is that it’s ultimately up to regulation and big companies to create systemic change. Not that my bringing a water bottle won’t make a difference. It does. However, a broader impact will come from these changes in massive corporations, which can come from government regulation.

And so, finding ways to get involved and engage politically is equally important.

I love all these thoughts! No Kill Mag is actively involved with the Fashion Act. Campaigning to get it passed is a great way to get involved.

Thanks so much for sharing with me about your journey!


Mary’s Favorite Things:

Book The Smell of Other People’s Houses
Movie/Series Wall-E
Creative Inspiration TikTok (I know it sounds crazy but if you sift through the noise – people are so creative and talented!)
Food – Spaghetti al Limone
Trend that you like Baggy jeans
Trend that you hate Fast Fashion
Quality in a human being Resilience
Person you admire My grandma
Quote to live by Trust the process

–Katya Moorman

Related Articles

Scroll to Top