Fashion Entrepreneur Brings Career Full Circle
by SUSAN HOUSTON KLAUS
Scott Kuhlman’s career in the clothing industry spans more than three decades — from his first job in his hometown of Ogallala to store manager of Ben Simon’s in Omaha to operating retail stores under his own brand, Kuhlman Company, and later leading a sourcing company that makes garments for retailers around the country.
About 15 years ago, when the University of Nebraska at Omaha business graduate read a white paper by an industry watchdog that spelled out the negative effect the fashion and textile industry has on pollution, he recognized an opportunity.
Textile pollution is a problem that continues to grow. Industry statistics say fashion production comprises as much of 10% of global carbon emissions. Additionally, an estimated 85% of all textiles are sent to landfills ever year, and some types of fibers are responsible for polluting rivers and streams.
As Kuhlman read on, he saw a call to action for third-party companies to find answers to the problem.
“Being an entrepreneur, I raised my hand and said, ‘let me figure this thing out.’ That’s when we started to dive into it to figure out what we could do,” Kuhlman said.
In January 2020, Kuhlman lauched ReCircled, a company focused on eliminating what it calls “unsolved waste.”
Headquartered in Denver, it partners with fashion brands around the world to recycle and reuse components of apparel, accessories and footwear and develop innovative ways to process what’s left over.
“We deal with everybody, from the very top of the food chain of super luxury brands — think of big European luxury brands — all the way down to what’s called fast fashion,” Kuhlman said.
In 2021, the company opened a facility in the 750,000-square-foot former Cabela’s distribution center in Sidney, Nebraska, not far from Kuhlman’s hometown. There, a team of 50 employees touches every piece that comes in.
“I tell people that if we’ve become experts in anything, it’s [that] we’re experts in sharp tools,” Kuhlman said. “We moved away from resale as being the main driver of what we do and really jumped into recycling. If we could get it into the pieces, then we could either find a recycling process or develop a recycling process.”
ReCircled also is constantly looking at ways to reduce its carbon footprint, collecting data on the distance clothing travels to Sidney as well as the amount of water used.
Today, Kuhlman continues to be on the leading edge of the industry, exploring solutions to help handle traditionally challenging complex waste streams. The company is working with a partner to implement hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology integration.
HTL breaks down carbon chains in mixed consumer waste and turns it into other products.
“The good news is [HTL] loves mixed waste,” Kuhlman said. “We’ve now shown that we can create tremendous amounts of biofuel, natural gas and fertilizers using inorganics like polyester and plastics.”
Kuhlman and ReCircled will continue to look beyond the ordinary for new ways to recycle and reuse.
“We’ve just got to continue to reduce our carbon footprint wherever we can and just be thoughtful about it,” Kuhlman said. “If we can create systems and processes, that’s really what’s going to move the needle.”
