(Editor’s note: This is the 33rd installment in a monthly series highlighting some of the region’s unsung manufacturers that make products essential to the economy and, in many cases, our way of life. See previous installments here.)
In today’s sustainability-focused world, merging air quality with interior design is a sensible approach.
More than 50 million Americans experience allergies each year, and 24 million have been diagnosed with respiratory diseases such as asthma.
However, few companies possess the skill set required to excel in both wellness and design, a reality many failed entrepreneurs can attest to.
Jamie Mitri, founder of Cumberland-based Moss Pure, is fortunate. Her background in bioscience sets her apart from a host of companies that make grand promises but fail to deliver.
Launched after Mitri’s victory in a Massachusetts Institute of Technology startup competition in 2020, Moss Pure now has 15 employees, and a few helpful family members, aiming to transform the green art sector, offering a product that serves as both a contemporary art piece and an innovation in air filtering and purification without the need for electricity, sunlight, or water.
Mitri identified a significant gap, noting that many brands relied on preserved or artificial moss instead of living varieties. Products that were up to snuff biochemically were not aesthetically pleasing, while prettified and cheaply made alternatives used toxic chemicals harmful to health.
Moss Pure’s design works by absorbing the nutrients in the air around it and creating a fuel-less air filtration system.
“This moss absorbs nutrients from the air it filters and can live indefinitely,” Mitri said.
The company recently moved from a rented studio in Smithfield to a purchased facility in Cumberland, sharing the property with Mitri’s father, who is the owner of Cumberland Hill Auto Sales.
Unlike traditional air filters, Moss Pure’s systems can cleanse the air in minutes, effectively removing more than 1.5 million pollutants daily, including dust, allergens, airborne viruses and toxins.
“Plus, you get a cool piece of art for your wall,” Mitri said.
Prices range from $400 to several thousand, depending on the design.
The company received recognition as a Top 10 Startup from the United Nations Development Programme in August 2020 and was named the 2025 Small Business Manufacturer of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Rhode Island District Office.
[caption id="attachment_495731" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
FAST FILTRATION: Moss Pure products can cleanse the air in minutes, effectively removing dust, allergens, airborne viruses and toxins.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
Every Moss Pure product is 100% sustainable, utilizing materials such as reclaimed farm wood for the containers. Mitri even developed her proprietary binding agents and wood stains.
Mitri says Moss Pure distinguishes itself as the only air filtration company certified through rigorous third-party testing by a U.S. certified laboratory, which is based in Atlanta.
The company’s 100% living moss wall art features patent-pending designs that can filter out 30% of carbon dioxide from the air in two minutes, she says.
With degrees in chemical engineering and biology, Mitri, originally from Lebanon and raised in Rhode Island, previously led research at the University of Rhode Island on ways to use algae as a biofuel source. She also worked for eight years as an environmental engineer overseeing large-scale wastewater treatment and air pollution control projects.
She says her background in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals gives her a leg up over the competition.
Despite starting from relative obscurity in Rhode Island, Mitri’s work has attracted international attention. Moss Pure has expanded its clientele to include high-profile figures such as Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, and Ronald McDonald House in Atlanta. A recent profile in Entrepreneur magazine resulted in a surge of orders for Moss Pure.
“Sometimes, I wake up scared to look at my phone to see how many orders I’ll find,” Mitri said.
While she has not disclosed specific revenue figures, Mitri says the company consistently operates in the upper six figures and has remained profitable. Being locally sourced has enabled her to avoid the pricing and supply chain challenges currently affecting larger manufacturers. She ships products through the United Postal Service and collaborates with local companies such as Cumberland-based Old Dominion Freight Line for smaller shipments.
Many people are unaware that plants, including moss, do not purify the air on their own. Adding living moss to a décor piece won’t survive and won’t filter air.
“I call it a multilayered living environment,” Mitri said. “It regulates everything the moss needs to thrive – temperature, moisture and nutrients – while serving as a biological air filter.”
Looking forward, the company plans to work with a private school in Deerfield, Mass., to create the first net-zero energy, fully green dining hall, tentatively scheduled for February 2026. Mitri would provide air filtration instead of electrical units for the dining hall. She is also working on a new prototype for an alternative to artificial turf.
But as the company has flourished, Mitri has faced repeated inquiries regarding her manufacturing process and faced challenges from competitors attempting to replicate her innovations or eliminate her from the market, including an attempt by a South Korean firm to replicate her product.
She even had a woman attempt to work for the company before Mitri quickly realized she was only interested in learning everything there was to know about how the pieces were put together.
Understanding the complexities of the process, Mitri strategically excluded key details from her patent application, but this has not dissuaded competitors.
“It’s unbelievable the lengths some people will go,” she said. “They think I’m just going to sit down with them and divulge everything. There’s not a day that goes by there is not someone trying to scam me. When I started Moss Pure, the first thing I was told is, ‘You need to find yourself a good lawyer.’ ”
Having invested $300,000 of her money, Mitri is planning for continued but manageable growth.
“I bootstrapped this,” she said. “Whether it is art or science, it is all my design.”
But her commitment to Rhode Island remains unwavering.
“This is a Rhode Island business,” she said. “Why would I go anywhere else? This is my home.”
