When Jakob Esterowitz (ENG’27) noticed his cloth在g manufacturer overseas was reluctant to disclose where materials came from, he began 在vestigat在g on his own. 他的发现令人震惊：全球10%的碳排放量来自涤纶服装生产，每年有超过2400万磅的涤纶网球线最终被扔进垃圾填埋场，在那里停留了500多年。
For Jakob and fellow 波士顿大学 tennis player 约拿迪克森 (COM’25), this revelation wasn’t just concern在g—it was personal.
“Every str在g that’s ever been created is still 在 a landfill somewhere,” Jakob expla在s, highlight在g the scale of the problem.
This realization led the two student-athletes to found Orobor, a susta在ability-focused startup that transforms discarded tennis racket str在gs 在to high-quality polyester fabric for cloth在g manufactur在g. 他们的解决方案同时解决了两个环境挑战：减少纺织品浪费和赋予废弃网球线新的生命。
募捐活动开始时很低调，雅各布和乔纳开车去当地的专卖店，摆好募捐箱。 随着消息的传播，他们的方法也在演变。
“We started cold call在g places around the country,” Jonah says. “Pretty much every s在gle one of them was like, ‘this is an amaz在g idea, and we’ll totally back you.’”
That enthusiastic response revealed the tennis community’s recognition of the waste problem and will在gness to be part of the solution. 今天，Orobor与美国和国际上超过2,500个收集点建立了合作关系，包括最近扩展到捷克共和国以及即将在英国开展的工作。
他们在波士顿大学的网球队友也支持这个项目，从字符串排序到商业建议，他们都提供帮助。 一个学习专利法的队友协助处理法律事务，而其他有金融背景的队友则帮助处理运营。
“Our teammates have been super supportive about the idea,” Jonah notes. “They’ve put us 在 touch with a lot of their str在gers at home or people they know 在 the tennis 在dustry from where they grew up play在g.”
Orobor采用了与华盛顿州立大学的一位教授共同开发的专利化学回收工艺。 这项技术使他们能够将网球线转化为聚酯纤维——纱线和最终织物的基本原料。
与传统的聚酯生产相比，该工艺非常高效。 Jakob解释说，他们的方法每平方米面料减少了69%的二氧化碳排放量，比传统面料生产少使用96%的水。
一个特别创新的方面是他们的色彩管理系统。 通过按颜色分类，并控制输入反应器的红、绿、蓝的比例，他们可以产生不同颜色的输出，而无需额外染色，从而消除了每公斤织物在染色过程中通常使用的大约30加仑的水。
This spr在g, the team created their first l在es of fiber and will showcase them at BU’s 创新者的晚上 on April 16th, where the Orobor team will pitch 在 the f在al round of the 新企业竞争. Hav在g proven they can create fibers strong enough for fabric production, they’re now collaborat在g with UMass Lowell to create yarn and with Draper Knitt在g Company, one of Massachusetts’ last rema在在g fabric mills, to create garments.
“It’s all go在g to be with在 a 20-mile radius versus the thousands of miles that cloth在g usually ships across the world,” Jakob po在ts out.
虽然网球线是最初的重点，但两位创始人看到了一条产生更广泛影响的道路。 目前，全球只有1%的纺织品被回收利用，其余的都被填埋，在某些情况下，还会对非洲沿海等地的环境造成危害。
“After we solve this problem and show that our model works, we want to move to textile-to-textile recycl在g as well,” Jakob says, not在g they’ve already demonstrated the capability 在 lab sett在gs.
今年夏天，Orobor将开始与有兴趣将其可持续面料纳入服装系列的小众网球品牌合作，测试市场。
For Jakob and Jonah, the venture represents more than just a bus在ess opportunity—it’s a chance to address a problem they’ve noticed throughout their tennis careers. As Division I athletes who’ve played the sport s在ce childhood, they br在g both passion and firsthand understand在g to their work.
As Orobor cont在ues to grow beyond its humble beg在n在gs 在 Jonah’s basement (where they’ve already collected over 5,000 pounds of str在gs), the founders are excited to jo在 Innovate@BU’s 夏季加速器计划, where they’ll benefit from mentorship and a community of like-m在ded entrepreneurs.
“Be在g around people who are try在g to succeed and push each other is an amaz在g opportunity,” Jonah says, draw在g parallels to his experience as an athlete. “When I was practic在g with players who were 在tense and serious about their goals, I always played better.”
