Monique Maissan is an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member in Shanghai, CEO of Vision Textiles, and founder of Waste2Weave. Monique has been a pioneer in sustainability in the notoriously environmentally unfriendly textile and fashion industry for more than 20 years. We asked Monique about her journey with sustainability and the challenges she’s experienced. Here’s what she shared.

Creating beautiful products from textiles has always been a process that I love. However, I am appalled by the textile industry’s processes that pollute our environment—including the release of caustic chemicals and harsh dyes that harm our environment.

That’s why I started my company, Vision Textiles, in 1998, with a commitment to operate with sustainability at the forefront. We made it a priority to implement manufacturing processes that are environmentally friendly.

I was intrigued when I learned about a game-changing technology in 2006: the manufacture of fabric from recycled plastic bottles. I instantly realized that it was a rare opportunity to correct some of the many environmental wrongs in an industry where harmful and polluting processes were the norm.