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In today’s episode we talk to Michael Elias. 

Michael is the Founder and CEO of circular subscription and textile recycling company, UPPAREL. 

UPPAREL, formally MANRAGS, was born from Michael’s own love of socks (a self-confessed “Sock Addict”) and the realisation that each pair he owned had a lifecycle which, at that time, concluded in landfill. He then began a sock subscription and added the ability for customers to return their unwanted / damaged socks to be recycled, re-used or repurposed.

To date UPPAREL has recycled over 1.7 million textile garments, of which 65% has been deemed re-usable and the remainder have been recycled into “new” socks or garments.

During this conversation we discuss:

• The creation and evolution of the brand and how they become leaders of the circular subscription economy;
• The need for businesses to take responsibility for their product’s entire lifecycle, including instilling recycling in their ethos; 
• Their partnerships with businesses such as Into Carry, KITX by Kit Willow, HoMie and many more;
• Partnering with Westfield to create their first ever Pop-Up Store in Southland Shopping Centre and how this partnership inadvertently drove foot traffic;
• The business’s long journey to becoming B Corporation Certified and what this means to them. 

It is important to note that UPPAREL were named number 22 on the E-Commerce Top 50 List for 2020 and labelled “One to Watch” by Inside Retail for 2021 + they were awarded Australia’s Sustainability Champions for 2020 by the National Retail Association!

 A huge thank you to Michael for joining us. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

If you would like to learn more about Michael and UPPAREL:

• UPPAREL
• UPPAREL (Instagram)
• Michael Elias  (LinkedIn)
• UPPAREL (LinkedIn)