TED Business A bold idea to rebuild the working class | Molly Hemstreet
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Nov 3, 2025 
Molly Hemstreet, a TED Fellow and co-founder of the Industrial Commons, is revolutionizing rural economies in Southern Appalachia through worker ownership and sustainable textiles. In this engaging talk, she discusses transforming textile waste into valuable yarn and emphasizing the importance of empowering local workers. Molly also highlights her journey in founding Opportunity Threads, an employee-owned textile company, and shares inspiring stories of worker leadership. Her vision for generational change focuses on deep community care as the foundation for economic power.
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Root Wealth In Local Assets
- Rural economies can rebuild by reimagining existing assets instead of relying on extraction.
- Molly Hemstreet shows value is created by rooting wealth where skills and materials already exist.
Founding Opportunity Threads
- Molly started Opportunity Threads as an employee-owned textile upcycling company in her hometown.
- The business transformed local skills into profitable sustainable manufacturing.
Scale By Networking Small Firms
- Build networks of small businesses to achieve scale without central extraction.
- Molly created the Carolina Textile District to let local firms 'be big by being small together.'