Greeley grad makes green clothes - in many colors

Andrew Meyer grew up playing tennis in Chappaqua, and has seen the revolution in the gear designed for players to wear. Fabrics now wick moisture away from skin and keep you from getting a sunburn. As a young entrepreneur, Meyer wanted to see if those clothes could be “green.”

The result is a line called Rylan Blue, and the clothes come in a few different colors, green among them. But they are made to incorporate bamboo fibers and charcoal, materials a little more environmentally friendly. OAS_AD(’ArticleFlex_1′);

“They’re technical first and environmental second,” said Meyer, a Horace Greeley graduate. “They’re not made of hemp.”

Mike May, the director of communications for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, said the group does not keep statistics on the market share for green apparel, but that the industry has seen more and more companies trying to get creative with manufacturing and recycling. Nike, for example, is recycling tennis shoes for use in basketball courts and tracks.

“Either on the front end or the back end, you’re seeing things recycled or reused,” May said.

Meyer, 26, moved to Austin, Texas, and launched the company six months ago, after living in China, where he taught business writing. With his degree from Cornell, Meyer visited each of the factories he works with personally to see that they met international manufacturing standards.

Meyer said that many of the machines capable of stitching certain fabrics are scarce in North America. He put in nearly $100,000 in start-up money from his own savings and investors, and used his fluency in the Mandarin language to negotiate with manufacturers.

“The Japanese, the Koreans and the Chinese are at the forefront of innovation in terms of fabrics,” said Meyer, whose apparel is available at stores in Texas and on the Rylan Blue Web site. “All of the new stuff is over there.”

Since he was a tennis player himself, Meyer wanted to create clothes that he was used to wearing and would appeal to a market that would be able to assume the extra costs that can go along with products made to certain environmental standards.

As for the name, he said he and his investors “spent about a month just saying new words and combinations of words that we thought had meaning, but sounded good. I liked ‘Rylan’ because it came from the word ‘rye,’ meaning ‘from the earth’ and ‘land.’ We decided to drop the ‘D’. Then I liked two things about adding ‘blue.’ First, it gave the name more flexibility. We have the potential in the future to create a ‘Rylan Green,’ ‘Rylan Red,’ etc. Second, I liked the play of a color ‘blue’ on the green movement.”

His initial line had clothing for tennis players, golfers and equestrians, but he picked the wrong time to launch a company. After the debut, the recession hit and holiday sales were not what he hoped for. In retrospect, he said he needed more variety, both of clothing and prices. At $55 for a tennis shirt and more for other items, the financial situation left him somewhat stranded.

After October’s fiscal crisis, Meyer hoped strong holiday sales would propel the line, but retail sales fell across the board and he was no exception. The crisis forced Meyer to reassess the best way to appeal to the market, and he plans to add products that reflect that knowledge.

“It’s nice to have the ability to retool because we’re small to begin with,” Meyer said. “It’s a work in progress.”

Meyer will rework his Web site, www.rylanblue.com, and is looking to add products from other environmentally friendly sports apparel lines. Sports such as running, rowing and rock climbing will be represented once he has finished, and he wants to create an emporium for green sports consumers.

May at the SGMA said that the environmentally friendly market line is growing, and that it’s a good way for new companies to find a niche in the industry.

“It takes a while to find the right branding,” said Meyer, who now coaches a rowing team. “We’ll move away from the country club sports and expand the products and the prices. That’s the future.”

Reach Jane McManus

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