The Portland startup worked backward from the compost pile, replacing the glue, foam, thread and hidden plastic that make ordinary clothes linger. Its useful lesson is less about green marketing than designing the return route before the first product ships.
Vericool is a Livermore, California packaging manufacturer that makes plant-based, curbside-recyclable and compostable thermal shippers designed to replace Styrofoam (EPS foam) in cold-chain shipping. Founded in 2015 by Darrell Jobe, the company builds insulated coolers and liners from recycled paper fiber and other renewable materials, sells to food-service, grocery, meal-delivery and pharmaceutical customers, and is known for a second-chance hiring model that employs formerly incarcerated people.