About Us
Mission
To upcycle spent coffee grounds and natural rubber into a practical leather alternative that lowers environmental impact while meeting real performance needs. Grounded aims to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions through two main pathways: diverting organic waste from landfill and replacing high-impact leather materials with a lower-carbon, plastic-free alternative designed for real-world use.
Inspiration
Our inspiration came from a habit of drinking coffee. Through various observations of coffee shops around the city to even our school's cafe, we noticed how quickly used coffee grounds piled up and were thrown away. This sparked our investigation into whether those grounds could be turned into something more useful instead of being discarded.
Vision
Grounded envisions a future where waste is treated as a resource and sustainable materials are able to be used as the new default, not simply the alternative. Grounded aims to support a circular material economy by enabling industries to reduce emissions, resource use, and pollution through smarter design and responsible sourcing.
