We are holding a lot of truths right now. And they’re all uncomfortable.
Truth 1: we don’t know if ( r e )x will survive
Truth 2: we’re not going out of business today. We’re still here, still selling hangers, still packing orders, still answering emails and doing all the daily work of running a small business.
Truth 3: when we need to reorder inventory come spring, everything could change. With 30% tariffs on products coming from South Africa (where our hangers are born) that reorder may not be financially possible for us.
Truth 4: we could probably find a way to pivot and keep the business alive.
Truth 5: we don’t want to…not if it means compromising everything we built this business to be.
This is not an announcement or a goodbye, or even a concrete decision about what’s to come. At least not yet.
But as a business built on truth & transparency, this is just our way of practicing what we preach.
It’s an invitation into the reality of what it looks like to run a truly sustainable business in a system that doesn’t always make room for it.
Our last newsletter talked about holding multiple truths, and this is a continuation of that conversation. The world feels uncertain right now, politically, economically, environmentally.
And while we don’t know what this administration will bring, we do know what we stand for.
So we want to talk about
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Values
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Why ( r e )x exists
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And why “just pivoting” isn’t as simple or as harmless as it sounds.
paulina didn’t build ( r e )x to half-ass sustainability
This brand exists because our founder, Paulina, believed sustainability couldn’t be vague. Or convenient. Or based on marketing buzzwords.
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She didn’t want to create just another “eco-friendly” product with a leaf logo slapped on the packaging and a supply chain hidden behind closed doors.
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She didn’t want recycled-plastic claims that couldn’t be verified.
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Nor did she want to cut corners when things got hard.
She wanted to prove you could do it right.
Fully, completely, and undoubtedly.
That belief shaped every decision we’ve made, from where our hangers are produced, to how the plastic is sourced, to why our product costs more than what you’ll find at Target.
When Paulina started looking for manufacturers, she talked to many. Manufactures in the U.S., manufacturers overseas, big factories, small factories etc.
And time after time, she ran into the same problem: no one could guarantee true transparency.
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They said “recycled plastic” but couldn’t say where it came from.
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They said “eco” but couldn't explain the process.
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They said “trust us” … and she did not.
After all that searching there was only one option that met her standards.
what “recycled plastic” really means (and why transparency matters)
We’ve all seen it: products proudly labeled “made with recycled plastic.” It sounds good, it feels responsible, and seems simple enough.
But the truth is, that phrase can mean almost anything.
In many cases, “recycled” plastic is actually virgin plastic that has been repurposed internally by a manufacturer.
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Plastic scraps from their own production line.
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Plastic that is yet to pollute the environment.
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Plastic that’s recycled for their own convenience, not for the planet.
That's not what ( r e )x is made of.
Our hangers are made from plastic that was literally polluting oceans, rivers, beaches, and waterways. Plastic that was in the environment, not in a landfill, not in a warehouse, not already in a closed loop.
Our partners, OPT, guarantee that level of transparency because they control the entire circular process. From collection to recycling to manufacturing.
And that matters. Because without transparency, sustainability is just a story companies like to tell.
the circular system that makes ( r e )x possible
OPT doesn’t just manufacture our hangers. They’ve built an entire ecosystem around waste recovery and community investment.
Here’s how:
OPT helps people in South Africa become entrepreneurs by investing in recycling pods (i.e. small collection hubs placed in local communities). These pods give people a place to bring plastic waste collected from streams, estuaries, beaches and oceans.
Just like bottle redemption programs, people are paid for the plastic they collect and return.
OTP doesn’t stop there, though.
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They provide business education
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They teach financial literacy
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They help pod owners understand how to make the system profitable and long-term
They are built on the precedent to reclaim, recycle, recover, and repower small communities.
So when you buy a ( r e )x hanger, you’re not just removing plastic from the environment.
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You are supporting entrepreneurs who are passionate about making a difference.
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You are helping fund local economies.
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You are contributing to a system that turns pollution into opportunity.
And that’s not just an added benefit of our product. That's the whole point.
designed to last (because longevity is sustainability)
We didn’t just think about where our hangers come from. We thought about how long they would exist in the world.
That’s why we designed our own custom mold.
( r e )x hangers are not like the flimsy ones you buy in big-box stores.
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Thicker.
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Reinforced in key places so they won’t snap under the weight of your winter coats.
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They’re meant to last for decades.
And that matters because the plastic isn’t endlessly recyclable. Each time plastic is recycled, it loses strength and integrity.
So instead of creating something disposable, we gave this intentionally-sourced plastic a second life. And designed that life to last as long as possible.
Keeping plastic out of the environment doesn’t just mean recycling it once. It means preventing it from ever needing to be recycled again. Longevity = sustainability.
why we can’t, and won’t, just “pivot”
People ask us (kindly and logically) why we don’t just find a new manufacturer. Especially now.
With 30% tariffs threatening our ability to reorder inventory this spring, the traditional business move would be to pivot, move production, and keep the lights on.
But pivoting would mean:
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abandoning the only manufacturer who can guarantee 100% transparency about recycled plastic sourcing
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potentially working with virgin plastic (which we will never do)
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or using recycled plastic with no accountability for where it came from
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walking away from OPT’s community investment program
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ending support for small entrepreneurs in South Africa
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spending tens of thousands of dollars to move a custom mold we designed for durability
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and ultimately becoming just another "sustainable" brand that compromises when things get difficult
We didn’t build ( r e )x to be that brand.
Sustainability isn't about the bottom line. In capitalism as we know it, you’re supposed to do whatever it takes to survive, grow, and expand:
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cut costs
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lower quality
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pay people less
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compromise values
But sustainability isn’t just a marketing angle for us, it’s an identity and a commitment to doing better.
This brand was built on the belief that profit is not the only metric that matters. That people, communities, and the planet deserve more than half-measures.
We simply believe that some things are worth more than survival at any cost.
it’s just a hanger…except it’s not
At the end of the day it is just a hanger.
But we hope that every time you open your closet, you feel a small reminder about something meaningful. A little joy, maybe even a little pride.
We hope you feel happy that you chose a product that pulled plastic out of the ocean.
That you chose to support a small business trying to do things right.
That you helped create jobs for small communities halfway across the world.
That you proved people still care about the future, even when culture and media suggest otherwise.
We don’t know what’s going to happen next. We don’t know what decision we’ll have to make this spring. We don’t know if ( r e )x will exist a year from now.
But we do know this:
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we will not roll over
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we will not compromise our values
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and we will never make a lesser product just to make more money
Whatever happens, we are proud of what we’ve built. And we're grateful you’re here with us, holding these truths alongside us.