Next gen materials news and archive

MycoWorks to take leather-alternative commercial with new plant

Biotechnology company MycoWorks is preparing to commercialise its leather-alternative Reishi with the opening of a 136,000 square foot factory in South Carolina, US. The major step has been made possible through partners such as Hermès and General Motors, as well as a 125 million dollar Series C funding round secured in 2021, and led by Prime...

Fashion |Interview Featured

Ganni co-founder talks trials and triumphs of material innovations

Nicolaj Reffstrup, the co-founder and former CEO of Danish label Ganni, is betting on the potential of innovative materials to clean up the fashion industry, and believes collaboration between brands and start-ups will play a pivotal role in achieving that. At the Global Fashion Summit in late June, Ganni showcased a “carbon-negative cellulosic...

Business

MycoWorks to open commercial-scale Fine Mycelium plant

Biomaterials technology company MycoWorks is opening the world’s-first commercial-scale Fine Mycelium production plant on September 20. The 136,000-square-foot facility located in Union, South Carolina in America will employ more than 350 people and enable MycoWorks to supply its luxury partners with millions of square feet of its premium and...

Fashion

Ganni and Polybion unveil new bacterial cellulose-made blazer

Danish fashion brand Ganni has teamed up with Polybion to create a new bio-leather blazer made entirely from Celium™, a new material made from bacterial cellulose. Crafted from fruit waste in Polybion’s factory in Irapuato, Mexico, Celium™ is a high-performing substitute to animal and plastic leather—the first of many solutions from the biotech...

FairsFeatured

"We need these innovators and they need us": Highlights from the 2023 Material Innovation Conference

The Material Innovation Conference is an annual summit held virtually that invites textile industry figureheads from big business to startups to explore and assess the past, present, and future growth of sustainably-driven innovations. Organised in part by Material Innovation Initiative co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Nicole Rawling,...

Business

Bolt Threads reportedly pulls plug on Stella McCartney-backed Mylo

American firm Bolt Threads is understood to have halted the production of its mycelium-based leather alternative Mylo, a material that has been used by the likes of Stella McCartney, Adidas and Kering. The production was paused after the company was unable to secure financing in order to scale up, Bolt Threads chief executive Dan Widmaier told...

Fashion Featured

From tequila scraps to the new most sustainable vegan skin

Four years ago, Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez Duarte from Mexico created an alternative material to animal skins by transforming cacti (nopal) into a bio-material called Desserto. This vegan leather has become one of the preferred materials for fashion brands seeking to offer more sustainable products around the world. Now, López...

Business |Interview Featured

ByBorre co-founder: 'The more textiles we sell, the more of a positive impact we make'

Dutch textile innovation company Byborre is committed to shifting towards a circular textile economy and raised nearly 17 million euros in an investment round in early February. With the capital injection, textile designer and ByBorre co-founder Borre Akkersdijk aims to expand internationally and continue investing in automation, materials...

Business

Sustainable fibre manufacturer Werewool secures 3.7 million dollar seed funding

Werewool, a manufacturer of protein-based textile fibres, has announced the closing of a 3.7 million dollar seed funding, which it said would accelerate the company’s mission of producing the material. Led by Material Impact and Sofinnova Partners, the funds from the round will be used to develop Werewool’s first product – protein fibres that...

Fashion Featured

Sqim wins 2023 ANDAM Innovation Prize

Italian materials company Sqim, which specialises in biofabricated materials made from pure mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, has been awarded the ANDAM 2023 Innovative Prize. Sqim is the first biotech company to be cultivating mycelium on a pure basis, explains ANDAM in the press release, a process that eliminates the use of...

Fashion |In Pictures Featured

What will be the SS24 material trends according to Première Vision?

Back in February, the international materials sourcing show, Première Vision 2023, revealed to professionals the first major trends in spring/summer 2024 fashion, through three themes: Decoration, Essentials and Leather. FashionUnited reported on the event. The Decoration Forum: the influence of plants on spring/summer 2024 fabrics ’Naturality’,...

Fashion

Pangaia and NFW introduces new plant-based and plastic-free material

Materials science company Pangaia and Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) has unveiled the world’s first commercially available apparel made from Mirum, a new, plant-based and plastic-free material designed to be a solution for footwear, fashion, automotive, accessories, and upholstery. The latest innovation released through Pangaia Lab is an air gilet,...