After a year and a half of research, development, and the hunt for the perfect cotton, two Detroiters are getting ready to launch a sustainable men’s clothing line — starting with a white T-shirt and ex-inmate employees.

Lazlo LLC, co-founded by siblings Christian Birky, 24, and Kathryn Birky, 27, both of Detroit, is based out of the Corktown creative incubator Ponyride. The duo has invested $80,000 into the startup since 2013, which is grounded in the concepts of sustainable, high-quality fabrics and local manufacturing processes.

As part of its mission, the team plans to hire former inmates to help sell and manufacture the Heirloom Tee from the Ponyride location. According to Christian Birky, the idea sunk in for him while tutoring in a prison during his junior year at Princeton University.

“I spent my whole life working on social justice, but I have a whole wardrobe of clothes made by kids in horrible conditions,” Birky said. “I didn’t want to feel guilt about it; I knew there had to be a better way.”

Through the Michigan Department of Corrections, Lazlo will receive a list of eligible applicants who have been released with a record of good behavior.

The department has been working to boost its re-entry program over the past year, according to department spokesman Chris Gautz. In June, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded a $5 million grant to support job training and placement programs in Detroit and elsewhere in Michigan, and some of those funds will be used to train those who have been most difficult to employ, including former prisoners, according to a news release.

According to Gautz, about half a dozen employers in Southeast Michigan are part of this program. The Department of Corrections sends resumes to those interested parties and conducts on site hiring events with the companies.

“So if a company comes to us and says, ‘We need forklift drivers,’ we contact all of our parole/probation offices in that area and have the agents comb through their files to find anyone in their caseload that might have that skill,” Gautz said via email.

"We're making sure they’re getting skills to go out in the workforce and not just being turned out on the street with no discernible skills."

According to Gautz, of the 9,000 people who entered the prison system in 2014, 29 percent were probationers who had committed another crime.

Of the six to eight employees Birky plans to hire, he said he hopes at least three of them are part of this program. The number of total hires is subject to change, depending on the success of the company’s Kickstarter campaign.

“I’m interested in cutting down recidivism, and providing opportunities for men to get out and stay out,” Birky said. “Hiring a diverse workforce is important. Some of the most humble and inspiring people I’ve met have spent time in prison. We’re treating this marginalized population as an asset, and I think that’s a really exciting way to look at it.”

Running from July 27 to Aug. 21, the $27,000 crowdfunding campaign is the remaining investment needed for Lazlo to begin official production. Birky said the first order will depend completely on how many participants join its Kickstarter campaign, but that the company has the potential for about 250 T-shirts in the first round.