TED Talks Daily A bold idea to rebuild the working class | Molly Hemstreet
78 snips
Aug 8, 2025 
Molly Hemstreet, cofounder of the Industrial Commons and a sustainable textile entrepreneur, is on a mission to rebuild rural economies in southern Appalachia. She shares her revolutionary approach to addressing generational poverty by transforming textile waste into valuable yarn. Instead of relying on handouts, Molly emphasizes empowering factory workers to become business owners. Her innovative strategies highlight community collaboration and sustainable practices, proving that economic resilience can flourish through worker ownership and interconnected support networks.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Textiles Power Everyday Systems
- Textiles underpin medical devices, protective gear, and daily essentials.
- Valuing textile skills sustains critical supply chains and local manufacturing jobs.
Employee-Owned Upcycling Business
- Molly Hemstreet co-founded Opportunity Threads as an employee-owned textile recycler.
- It upcycles ~60,000 T-shirts weekly and operates profitably.
Scale By Networking Small Producers
- Molly Hemstreet built the Carolina Textile District to combine small firms into a larger regional network.
- This 'coopetition' creates scale, resilience, and shared opportunity without huge centralized plants.