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The fashion industry is one of the most environmentally polluting industries on the planet. The number of resources this insatiable industry consumes is never-ending and highly damaging to the environment. There are a lot of ethical and ecological challenges associated with this industry, such as raising livestock for leather, tanning of hides, using petroleum to make polyesters, the list goes on.
The need of the hour is to create biofabrics that are made using techniques that have little to no impact on the environment, are scalable, and economically viable. Here are some of the startups that are stepping up to this challenge and taking charge:
Located in the US, AlgiKnit uses a sustainable and scalable method to create yarn using kelp, a type of seaweed. The kelp can be easily farmed in coastal waters, and the resultant biodegradable fibers provide a durable and practical alternative to the footwear and apparel industries.
Located in the US, Provenance utilizes cellular agriculture and synthetic biology to create an evolved form of collagen with strong structural integrity that can be used as an alternative to leather. The resultant material serves as a cruelty-free, scalable, and economically viable alternative to leather.
Located in the US, Mango Materials uses it's proprietary technology to produce poly-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) powder by using greenhouse gas emissions. This can be used as a viable replacement for persistent polyester. The microfibers produced from this bio-polyester are easily biodegradable in any environment.
Located in Finland, Infinited Fiber creates Infinna™ a cellulose carbamate fiber using cellulose-rich materials such as discarded textiles and agricultural waste. This reduces the dependence on new virgin materials and helps to decrease waste generation.
Located in the US, Bolt Threads uses biology and traditional textile production techniques to create new products using textile waste. Their products include Microsilk, a textile made from the same proteins as spiderwebs, and Mylo, an alternative to leather made by engineering mycelium —a network of fungal threads that grows underground.
Lab Management Software for Biofabric Startups: Scispot.io
Scispot has become the primary lab management software of choice for numerous modern biotech companies, including biofabric startups.
Scispot creates a connected digital replica of these innovative bioscience companies. It centralizes their company-wide data, templatizes routine research and automates non-scientific tasks. It makes other lab software such as electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) and lab information management systems (LIMS) redundant.
Biofabric startups use Scispot's operating platform to manage their research projects, inventory, samples, and partners all in one spot. Request a demo to learn how you can accelerate your research using Scispot.
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