Michigan Student Recycles Lake Trash Into Clothes

A teen who describes himself as a “Great Lakes lover” is working to turn plastic waste from the Great Lakes into sustainable clothing.

University of Michigan student Jackson Riegler founded Oshki, which is reportedly the first company to use 100-percent U.S. plastic to make clothes.

Riegler, now 19, started the company when he was a junior in high school in his hometown of Muskegon. He found out that federal budget cuts were about to impact environmental efforts in the Great Lakes.

He told WXYZ TV, "I grew up by the shores of Lake Michigan in Muskegon and really wanted to do something to help preserve our water.”

Oshki donates five-percent of all profits to nonprofit groups that are also working to preserve the Great Lakes and each month, Riegler picks a different local nonprofit to support. He’s already focused on the company’s new line of fully recycled clothing, which includes men’s shorts and women’s leggings.