Janel is a Cooper Union graduate with 25 years in industrial design for the soft goods industry. She has spent her career leading teams in design and product development for global and domestic markets. Janel delivered courses and workshops to introduce the UN Sustainable Development Goals to students enrolled in RISD CE’s new design and product development program and is currently leading North American product trials for Accelerating Circularity. Accelerating Circularity’s mission is to divert textiles from landfill. As Sr. Director of Product Design at Samsonite LLC., Janel piloted projects using polyester fabric derived from 100% post-consumer PET bottles, catalyzing global adoption of recycled materials across the Samsonite brand. In 2020 Ms. Twogood left Samsonite to mine the textile wasteland. In her new role as U.S. Program Manager for Accelerating Circularity, she works with major retailers and brands to identify gaps and target innovations to accelerate adoption of circular supply chains within the apparel sector. As proof of concept, Accelerating Circularity is collaborating with experts across multiple disciplines to produce trial yarns, fabrics, and finished goods at commercial scale. All trials are being executed within North America, including sourcing and manufacturing within the United States. Participants include global brands, fabric mills, and yarn spinners, U.S. chemical and mechanical textile recyclers, garment and industrial textile waste collectors, sorters, and preprocessors.
Her mantra for aspiring new designers is: “Go, see…and listen.”
