Boston Startup, Students Produce Clothes Hangers from Textile Waste

A couple of Boston entrepreneurs are working on changing the fashion industry by developing clothes hangers from textile waste.

Rikita Lakdawla and Francesco Ficorilli are co-founders of GRAFF, a sustainable startup. The two have entered their product in a worldwide competition in which they are currently semi-finalists.

“I was like we need to do something about this because this is really not sustainable for our planet and it’s not healthy either,” said Lakdawla.

According to the duo, 85% of clothes produced end up in landfills, so they set out to make something useful out of that waste.

“There is a misconception now a days that sustainable is not profitable, that is not true,” said Ficorilli.

The two entrepreneurs are part of a team of five at the Hult International Business in Cambridge. Currently, they are semi-finalists for the Hult Prize, where the winner will receive $1 million to help their innovation get off the ground.

“All of our participants have proposed a startup that addresses some part of the value chain for sustainable fashion,” said Lori van Dam, Hult Prize CEO.

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