--- title: 'ReFleece: Eco-friendly iPad Cases Start to Pay Off' description: 'When he lost his job at a solar firm, Sam Palmer turned to a different earth-friendly business: tech cases made from recycled materials.' authors: - name: Josh Hyatt url: https://money.com/author/josh-hyatt/ at_money_since: 2013 articles: 2 covers: - Career Advice former_staff: true published: '2013-02-06T16:32:10.000Z' modified: '2024-04-14T09:01:48.000Z' section: Shopping tags: - Careers - iPad cases - recycled material - refleece - sam palmer - Second Act - Second Career - Small Business - Startups word_count: 469 canonical: https://money.com/refleece-eco-friendly-ipad-cases-start-to-pay-off/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Legend and Fan](https://img.money.com/2012/01/503997943.jpg) *Mays always loved to interact with kids. As a New York Giant he would frequently play stickball with kids in Harlem, and today his foundation benefits underprivileged youth.* Sam Palmer knew the end was near. His employer, a solar-panel manufacturer, was foundering, leading the applications engineer to decide that "the time was coming for me to step out on my own." A devoted tinkerer, Palmer had been experimenting with felt he made out of recycled fleece and molded into sleeves for tech gadgets. Convinced that these eco-friendly covers could sell, he raised startup capital by refinancing his home and applying for a home-equity loan. So when the solar firm (which was indeed on its way to Chapter 7) laid him off in late 2010, Palmer was ready. "It was a kick in the pants to get going," he says. Palmer took his prototypes to a previous employer, clothing giant Patagonia. Executives there connected him with their coat-recycling initiative, which began supplying him with fleece. With raw materials in hand, Palmer found a manufacturer to press and form the fleece and ship orders to a fulfillment center. After paying the factory a one-time fee of $13,000, he is now charged based on the number of cases made (that came to $60,000 for 10,000 units in 2012). Palmer began selling his $25 to $32 cases in late 2011, first for Kindle and later for iPad, under the name ReFleece. They're available at U.S. Patagonia stores, Amazon.com, and his own website. Related: Suite dreams: Opening a bed and breakfast Getting [ReFleece](http://www.refleece.com/) going put Palmer, his wife, Jennifer Feller, and their two children in a challenging spot, prompting them to borrow from his parents and tap their savings. But the engineer expects to hit $150,000 in sales in 2013, which, after covering materials, office space, and manufacturing, should put the company $80,000 or so in the black, letting the couple take a salary for the first time. While it's just the first step to stability, says Palmer, he's committed to his idea: "It's gratifying to bring it to life." ### HOW HE DID IT **Startup funds: $150,000** Using a home-equity loan and a cash-out refinancing, Palmer has already invested $100,000 in manufacturing and raw materials. He plans to use the remaining $50,000 to add new product lines, including cases for the iPhone and iPad mini. **When Palmer expects to match his old $100,000 salary: 2014** He hopes to be up from four to 10 products by then and to start selling internationally. Revenue should hit $300,000. "I'm enjoying feeling the connection between what I do and what my rewards will be," he says. **How much longer the family's savings will last: 6 months** Palmer and his wife, Jennifer, who started working full-time for ReFleece in spring 2011, began with $80,000 in savings and a $20,000 loan from his parents. Palmer is negotiating with his mom and dad for an extra $30,000 to cover expenses until the firm turns a profit in 2013. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/refleece-eco-friendly-ipad-cases-start-to-pay-off/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Shopping", "item": "https://money.com/shopping/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tech", "item": "https://money.com/tech/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "ReFleece: Eco-friendly iPad Cases Start to Pay Off" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/refleece-eco-friendly-ipad-cases-start-to-pay-off/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/refleece-eco-friendly-ipad-cases-start-to-pay-off/", "name": "ReFleece: Eco-friendly iPad Cases Start to Pay Off", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2013-02-06T16:32:10.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/refleece-eco-friendly-ipad-cases-start-to-pay-off/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/refleece-eco-friendly-ipad-cases-start-to-pay-off/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-14T09:01:48.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "ReFleece: Eco-friendly iPad Cases Start to Pay Off", "articleSection": "Shopping", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2012/01/503997943.jpg", "width": 3048, "height": 2048, "caption": "Legend and Fan" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Josh Hyatt", "url": "https://money.com/author/josh-hyatt/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/josh-hyatt/#author" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2013-02-06T16:32:10.000Z", "description": "When he lost his job at a solar firm, Sam Palmer turned to a different earth-friendly business: tech cases made from recycled materials.", "abstract": "When he lost his job at a solar firm, Sam Palmer turned to a different earth-friendly business: tech cases made from recycled materials.", "@id": "https://money.com/refleece-eco-friendly-ipad-cases-start-to-pay-off/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-04-14T09:01:48.000Z", "wordCount": 469, "keywords": [ "Careers", "iPad cases", "recycled material", "refleece", "sam palmer", "Second Act", "Second Career", "Small Business", "Startups" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Shopping", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tech", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech" ] } ] } ] } ```