Sustainability has become more than a trend. It has become a necessity. With the fashion industry facing scrutiny on its environmental effects, many path-waving innovators are stepping up to partner with brands to transform their processes into more eco-friendly practices that can help reduce waste and follow a circular economy. They are redefining how fashion is designed, produced, distributed, and consumed.

Here are the top innovative companies that collaborate with top brands to offer sustainable fashion solutions.

Renewcell

Renewcell is a Swedish company specialising in textile recycling founded in 2012. It has developed Circulose, a patented high-quality material that can replace polyester, cotton, and wool, paving the way to a circular economy. The company processes used garments such as old T-shirts and jeans to pulp called Circulose. Global brands are collaborating with Renewcell to use the patented material in their supply chain. H&M made its Conscious Exclusive collection with Circulose used partially. Levi’s produced its Wellthread jeans by using Circulose. Zalando GmbH featured the material to reduce waste in fast fashion.

Bolt Threads

Bolt Threads is a California-based biotechnology company, founded in 2009, that designs and develops sustainable materials. The company has a number of key innovations including Mylo (a non-biodegradable leather alternative made from the mushrooms’ root structure, mycelium) and BoltSpun (an alternative for silk made from proteins that are similar to those of spider silk through fermentation using sugar, water, and yeast). It also collaborates with Gunkgo Bioworks to enhance the efficiency and scalability of its material production. Stella McCartney collaborated with the company to feature Mylo in its shoes, handbags, and clothing. Adidas integrated Mylo on its sneakers. Lululemon Athletica used Mylo for its athletic gear and yoga accessories.

Natural Fiber Welding (NFW)

Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) is a materials science and innovation company in Illinois, US, founded by Dr. Luke Haverhals in 2015. It focused on transforming natural materials into sustainable alternatives to synthetic fibers. The company created Mirum (a 100% bio-driven and plastic-free alternative for leather made from natural items such as rubber, cork, and agricultural byproducts) and Clarus (a patented process of re-engineering natural fibres such as cotton to produce textiles with enhanced performance and durability). Allbirds used Mirum for its footwear designs to produce natural and sustainable sneakers. Patagonia is utilising Clarus technology to develop high-performance and durable materials. Pangaia launched a Mirum-made capsule collection of accessories and bags. Ralph Lauren reimagines cotton textiles through Clarus technology.

Fashion for Good

Fashion for Good is a global platform for sustainable innovations in the fashion industry, launched in 2017 with C&A Foundation. The company worked as a catalyst to nurture startups and other brands by incorporating new technologies and promoting circularity and transparency. It has a Good Fashion Fund - dedicated to investment funding capitals to scale, Innovation platform - to support budding and existing innovators with the Accelerator Program and Scaling Program to provide funding, mentorship, and market access, Circular Apparel Community - promoting collaboration between suppliers, innovators, and brands to enhance circular fashion initiatives, and an interactive museum in Amsterdam to educate the people about sustainable fashion, the impact of innovation and circular economy. It has collaborated with brands and conglomerates such as Adidas, Kering Group, Zalando GmbH, Inditex SA, Arvind Limited and Levi Strauss & Co..

Paptic

Paptic is a Finnish sustainable packaging company founded in 2015. It incorporates the best qualities of plastic, paper, and textiles combined for eco-friendly packaging solutions that are reusable, recyclable, and durable. Its patented Paptic material is created from sustainably sourced wood fibers as an alternative to traditional plastic. The material is consumer-friendly, durable, sustainable, and versatile through an eco-friendly production process. Brands and conglomerates such as LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, H&M Group, Zalando GmbH, and IKEA use the material for their sustainable and premium packaging as shopping and e-commerce bags.

Modern Meadow

Modern Meadow is a biomaterials company, founded by Andras Forgacs and Gabor Forgacs in 2011. It connects design, engineering, and biology to produce sustainable materials that can reduce the usage of animal-based and petrochemical products. The company created Bio-Alloy technology that merges synthetic and natural proteins to produce versatile materials through customisable properties, Zoa Biofabricated material (a leather alternative made from engineered proteins), and Bio-F@rm that harnessed advanced bioengineering and fermentation to create bio-based materials and ingredients. Allbirds uses Zoa Biofabricated material as one of the sustainable material options for accessories and footwear. PVH Corporation uses biofabricated materials for its brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.

MycoWorks

MycoWorks is a biotechnology company launched by Sophia Wang, Phil Ross, and Eddie Pavlu. It is specialised in mycelium-based materials, especially its patented Fine Mycelium technology. Fine Mycelium material is durable, sustainable, biodegradable, renewable, and can be customised. Hermès collaborated with MycoWorks to produce Sylvania, a mycelium-based material, for its iconic Victoria bag. Stella McCartney is exploring ways to incorporate Fine Mycelium into luxury accessories and apparel. Kering Group introduced Fine Mycelium into the collection from its brands like Gucci and Balenciaga.

LanzaTech

LanzaTech is a biotechnology company that focuses on carbon capture and utilisation technology, launched in 2005. It has developed a gas fermentation process that transforms industrial waste gases and carbon emissions into products such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), ethanol, and other chemicals. Zara partnered with LanzaTech to create textiles created from recycled carbon emissions. L'Oréal Paris used the process to create packaging materials from carbon emissions. Unilever is exploring the use of ethanol made from recycled carbon for personal care and household products.

Cover Image: *Renewcell** fibre, courtesy FUTUREVVORLD.*