This Rocket Scientist is Launching a Sustainable Clothing Line

Mary Popp, Founder of BERYL

Bioengineer turned Lockheed Martin and NASA Orion Space Program rocket scientist, Mary Popp, is adding to her roster of solving complex problems with the founding of her new sustainable fashion line, BERYL—joining the growing movement of entrepreneurs combatting the fashion industry’s harmful effects on climate change.

Popp launched BERYL with a big vision and a small capsule collection on Kickstarter last month. “We use natural or naturally derived materials wherever we can, recycled materials when that’s an option, and always try to choose the products that have the lowest impact on the environment...we’re not perfect, but we’ve got goals,” Popp says.

Long term, Popp aims to only use fabrics that are dyed using recycled water, eliminate the use of dyes with harsh chemicals and fabrics with even small hints of virgin petroleum oil, power the website through renewable energy, and create community gardens with production partners. Popp has a collection of additional ideas for offsetting the carbon footprint of the business as well but to incorporate all these environmental best practices will take time, research, and true collaboration with partners. For now, Popp is focusing on progress over perfection.

From the moment she felt the pull to build this brand, to the biggest fears she had to overcome to get going, Popp shares below how she’s starting by starting.

The moment I knew I had to take the leap and start my company (aka my Big Whisper moment)…

Was when I was on page 10 of a Google search looking for sustainable clothes I actually wanted to wear that I could afford. I’d been searching on and off for clothes that I could feel about wearing, both from an impact perspective and style wise – and they just didn’t exist. It felt like, and still does, like all the sustainable options out there were either boxy linen neutrals or very bohemian. I have a corporate job, I’m an engineer, and my style tends to lean more classic a la J Crew. I also couldn’t afford the typical “sustainable clothing” prices i.e. $250 for a blouse. The exact moment I came up with BERYL was in July of 2016 when I was brainstorming in a goal setting workbook, I’ve loved and used PowerSheets for 4 years! I was writing down all these ideas for things that I wished existed and it just poured out from me.

The biggest fear I had when I got going was…

That I didn’t know what I was doing at all. I mean, I’m an engineer. I’ve helped to build spaceships, but how on EARTH was I supposed to figure out how to take an idea to a product people can buy?! I’m great at getting things done, but the problem was that I didn’t even know what had to get done. That fear of the unknown was terrifying and froze woman can afford with more sustainable fabrics.

The minimum viable version I started with to get going…

Is actually where I’m at right now! I just launched my Kickstarter campaign, where you can pre-order the pieces I wanted to launch with. I have so many goals for BERYL, and I know we’re not perfect but I believe in just starting and adjusting as you go. Down the road, I want us to be more size inclusive. To do that right, you really need a second pattern since you can’t just scale it up past a certain point and we’re too small to be able to do that yet. I want to pursue a B corporation certification, use more recycled fibers, and use recycled water for dying. It’s just going to take time and money to get there, so right now we’re focused on producing fair wage clothes at prices the everyday woman can afford with more sustainable fabrics.

The hardest part about getting started was…

That I just didn’t know where to start. I spent 6 months reading books on entrepreneurship and marketing, and then thankfully found an incubator focused on sustainable fashion companies, so lucky! I definitely had a few friends who pushed me to start acting instead of just researching, and if not for them I might still be reading books on how to start a company.

A learning from this experience so far that stands out…

Is that once you just sit down and start, you’ll find out it’s not nearly as scary or as difficult as you thought it would be. I spent a lot of time waiting to start things because I was fearful and didn’t know how to do it, and once I just made myself sit down and get to work I found it was much easier than I expected and usually took less time than all the time I took waiting to start it.

What’s been helpful to stay motivated and/or inspired has been…

To hear different women get excited about BERYL’s mission, because they too have been waiting for sustainable clothing they can afford that doesn’t require a huge style sacrifice. Sustainable fashion has increased in Google searches by over 66% in the past year, which is huge.

People care about their impact, and are trying to make better choices, which is great because we’re in trouble environmentally and arguably on a human rights scale too.

When I started, my worries were…

That I didn’t know the first thing about how to create a product.

Now my worries are…

How to market my products. Marketing is no joke and trying to bootstrap it has been a challenge. It’ll definitely be the first place I’ll focus on getting outside help once BERYL can afford it.

Something I’ve learned about myself from this experience…

Is that I am so much more capable than I thought. And that I need to be true to myself – if I just always mold to the feedback I receive, then BERYL will just become a mush of everyone else’s ideas and opinions without a clear identity.

A piece of advice I found really helpful when getting started…

Fail quickly and often. Don’t spend a ton or time and money trying to be perfect on the first try, because the odds of that happening are slim. Just get started as quick as you can and adjust.

I knew building this was the right thing for me to do because…

I’ve always felt so strongly about voting with your money, and people spend so much money on clothes but there’s really no way to “vote” for a better choice. I’ve always loved style, my dress up box as a child was HUGE, but since I’ve been in my 20s it’s really felt like personal style has gone out the window. It’s been replaced by fast fashion and ever-changing trends. People are just carbon copies of each other. My hope is by providing beautiful timeless pieces, with a fresh twist, women are able to use them to start expressing their own sense of style again.