Watch CBS News

Pingree Detroit Offers Unique Skills To Veterans Through Reclaimed Leather Product Manufacturing

Southfield (CW50) - Pingree Detroit is a worker-owned company started in 2015 to help veterans gain a living wage by creating sustainable, up-cycled products from materials destined for landfills in Detroit. The team creates handcrafted bags, accessories, and footwear using reclaimed leather from the Detroit auto industry.

Pingree
Pingree Detroit workers, creating leather shoes from reclaimed materials (Photo provided by Pingree Detroit)

The majority of Pingree's equipment and materials are sourced from the USA and all shipping materials they use are 100% recycled and compostable.

Workers are given the opportunity to own a part of the company, and 77% of the Pingree's profit goes to those Veterans.

Screen Shot 2020-07-02 at 1.46.30 PM
Jarret Schlaff, Co-Founder of Pingree Detroit

Jarret Schlaff, Co-Founder & CEO of Pingree, joins Lisa Germani on Community Connect to talk about why he started the company and what was the process behind using reclaimed materials.

To learn more about Pingree Detroit go to PingreeDetroit.com

Watch COMMUNITY CONNECT, Saturday at 8:30am on CW50

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.