Introducing
The Piña Designs Team
Join us in our mission to make the world a better, more sustainable place — one hair tie at a time. Piña Designs is proudly women-led, built by two founders who believe that innovation, engineering, and sustainability belong in the same sentence.
Our Why
Every day in the United States alone, 15,000,000 hair ties are lost or tossed, amounting to 25,000 pounds of waste. Those 25,000 pounds worth of waste are the equivalent of 5 adult elephants worth of trash in weight, everyday in America alone.
Astonishingly, every single hair tie ever owned continues to exist in the world today, contributing to the growing problem of micro-plastic pollution. Despite their small size, the ubiquitous presence of hair ties poses a significant threat to the environment over time. Witnessing this wasteful cycle firsthand, we were driven to action. We wanted to make a product that is both good for your hair, and good for the planet. That is when we formed Piña Designs.
We have a vision of making sustainable living the norm. Our first product is a biodegradable hair tie that is both stylish and sustainable. We pride ourselves in our values of only having our products made with fair, ethical labor, and having sustainability at the forefront of everything we do. We understand the weight of our responsibility and actively work to minimize carbon emissions and waste. Moreover, we recognize the importance of community engagement in combating climate change. Therefore, a portion of our profits are reinvested into initiatives aimed at environmental preservation and social progress. We want Piña Designs to become a lifestyle brand that people choose because they believe in our mission and the quality of our products.
Our Story
Our motivation stems from a deep-seated concern for the environmental impact of synthetic hair ties. Did you know that every hair tie ever owned still exists today, taking a staggering 500 years to decompose into harmful microplastics? We refuse to contribute to this cycle. That's why we've poured countless hours into perfecting our high-quality, long-lasting hair ties that won't slip or cause hair breakage. We want to make sustainable living easy and accessible to everyone. We are hoping to build an empowering, change-focused community rooted in sustainability and ethics principles. Our vision is to make living sustainably the new norm.
How we started
It all began with a group of driven women who came together during a business capstone, united by a shared vision: to revolutionize the world of hair accessories through the power of sustainable design. From those early conversations, something real took root.
Our journey gained momentum when we dared to enter the University of Colorado Boulder's New Venture Challenge in 2023. Out of over 100 teams, we proudly secured a spot in the top five. That milestone affirmed what we always believed: this idea was worth fighting for.
Today, Piña Designs continues to move forward with that same fire. Crafted from pineapple scraps, our products are 100% sustainable and biodegradable and with every purchase, a portion of proceeds goes back to the communities that inspire us. We're not just building a brand; we're building something that matters.
Meet our Team
Sydney Kobak
CDO and Co-Founder
Sydney is the Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer of Piña Designs. With a Bachelor's in Integrated Design Engineering and a Master's in Sports Engineering, she brings a deep technical foundation and a passion for purposeful design to everything she creates. Sydney leads all creative and product development at Piña, spearheading The Piña Everyday Hair Tie® from early concept through prototyping, testing, and production. She believes great products should be both high-performing and planet-friendly, which is exactly what drives every design decision here at Piña.
Erika Gossett
COO and Co-Founder
Erika is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Piña Designs. With a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies and a background in integrated marketing, brand communications, and operations, she is the engine behind Piña's day-to-day business. Erika oversees vendor relationships, operational systems, and the processes that keep Piña running seamlessly from the ground up. Her experience in project coordination, strategic communications, and cross-functional teamwork gives her a sharp eye for both the big picture and the details that make it all work. At Piña, she ensures that every partnership, process, and product launch comes together the way it should.