Search Results for: material

von Holzhausen Ripple Shoe

© von Holzhausen
Shoes

Von Holzhausen Launches “Ripple Shoe” Made From Biodegradable Liquidplant™ Material

US-based material innovation brand von Holzhausen has unveiled The Ripple Shoe, a high-performance sneaker made without petroleum. The Ripple Shoe is the first footwear made from Liquidplant™, a material developed in-house by von Holzhausen. Created using renewable inputs such as sugar and seeds, the material is said to have the technical performance of premium polyurethane but is plastic-free. It is also biodegradable, recyclable, and entirely plant-based. According to von Holzhausen, Liquidplant™ fits into existing manufacturing pipelines and provides the durability and density required for commercial use. “More than a product” Von Holzhausen’s mission is to replace plastic and leather with plants. The brand has previously focused on direct-to-consumer accessories, but is now shifting toward scalable, enterprise-ready material innovation for fashion, tech, and automotive. Liquidplant™ was …

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AGRANA AGENAPURE starches

© AGRANA
Ingredients

AGRANA Launches AGENAPURE Clean Label Starches Derived From European Raw Materials

AGRANA, an Austria-based global producer of specialty starch-based ingredients, is expanding its product portfolio with the launch of a new line of clean-label starches called AGENAPURE. Designed to meet the evolving needs of the food manufacturing industry, the high-performance starches are derived from European-grown raw materials. They are said to offer an excellent balance between functionality, versatility, and cost-effectiveness. According to AGRANA, AGENAPURE starches have a neutral flavor profile and exceptional thickening and texturizing capabilities. They also have broad application flexibility in sauces, dressings, bake-stable fillings, and yogurts. “Clean label is no longer a niche – it’s the new norm,” said Horst Hartl, CEO of AGRANA Starch. “AGENAPURE offers our customers a smart and scalable solution that supports clean label formulation without sacrificing functionality.” “Continuous …

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Arda Biomaterials

Brett Cotten and Dr. TJ Mitchell © Arda Biomaterials
Leather Alternatives

Arda Biomaterials Converts Brewery Byproducts into Leather Alternatives with $5.25M Funding Round

Arda Biomaterials, a company specializing in plant-based materials derived from waste proteins, has raised $5.25 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Oyster Bay Venture Capital, with participation from Clean Growth Fund, Kadmos Capital, and Green Angel Ventures. The financing will support the company’s ongoing research and development of its first material innovation, New GrainTM, a leather-like material made from barley proteins sourced from spent grains from breweries and distilleries. The company published the update to its Substack, reporting that the funds will also help it scale its production capabilities and begin the commercialization of New GrainTM, targeting industries such as fashion, automotive, and more. Arda’s strategy is to leverage the large-scale potential of brewery and distillery by-products, using these …

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Stephanie Downs. Image supplied.
Opinion

Op Ed: Stephanie Downs – Why Sustainable Fashion is Turning to Farming for Material Innovation

Stephanie Downs, CEO of UNCAGED Innovations, is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience and a leading expert in animal-free material alternatives for the fashion and automotive industries. In 2020, she co-founded UNCAGED Innovations with Dr. Xiaokun Wang, pioneering sustainable leather alternatives made from grains at scale. The company is currently developing prototypes for global high-fashion brands and automotive leaders such as Jaguar Land Rover. In this op-ed, Stephanie discusses the growing shift toward bio-based materials in fashion and how the industry is turning to farming for sustainable material innovation. She explores the role of agricultural by-products in creating next-generation alternatives to traditional leather, highlighting the economic opportunities for farmers and the environmental benefits of moving beyond plastic-based vegan materials. Why Sustainable Fashion …

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Modern Synthesis

© Modern Synthesis
Textiles

Modern Synthesis Raises $5.5M to Grow High-Performance Biomaterials from Microbes

London-based biotechnology company Modern Synthesis has raised $5.5 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by Extantia Capital, with additional investments from Artesian and Collaborative Fund. The financing will support the company’s efforts to scale production at its pilot facility and meet growing demand from fashion brands seeking sustainable material alternatives. Fashion brands are expected to face a shortage of 133 million tonnes of low-impact raw materials by 2030 due to increasing regulatory pressure to decarbonize. Modern Synthesis aims to address this gap with its biomaterial technology, which uses nanocellulose—a fibre derived from microbial fermentation—to create alternatives to animal leather, synthetic leather, and plastic-coated textiles. The company’s proprietary process leverages the strength of nanocellulose, which is significantly stronger than steel at the nanofiber level, to …

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Cultivated leather tissues under the microscope.

© Faircraft
Investments & Finance

French Cultivated Leather Startup Faircraft Secures €15M to Meet Demand for Ethical Materials

France’s Faircraft, a cultivated leather startup based in Paris, announces it has raised €15 million to expand its team and scale up operations to meet the increasing demand for sustainable materials. Faircraft was founded in 2021 by CEO Haïkel Balti, an engineer in materials science, and biochemist César Valencia Gallardo. Leveraging cell biology and unique tissue engineering techniques, they aim to offer a new class of materials with a lower environmental impact, starting with “real leather without the animal.” Kindred Ventures (USA), Cap Horn (France), BPI France, Blue Wire Capital (UK), Sake Bosch (Netherlands), Entrepreneur First (UK), Alliance for Impact (France), and Heirloom (USA), backed the startup’s sustainable leather in this round. “Lab-grown leather represents a major evolution that goes far beyond the fashion industry …

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Image courtesy of Beyond Leather Materials
Leather Alternatives

Beyond Leather Materials and TAKT Launch Designer Chairs Featuring Vegan Upholstery Made from Apple Waste

Two Danish companies — Beyond Leather Materials and the furniture house TAKT — have partnered to create high-quality furniture that combines Scandinavian design with environmentally friendly materials. After years of collaboration, the companies have finally introduced eight of TAKT’s design chairs upholstered with Leap, Beyond Leather Materials’ vegan-certified leather alternative made from apple waste. The collaboration marks the first time Leap is used in furniture and TAKT’s first vegan upholstery option. “At TAKT, we aim to create furniture that is as good for the planet as for the people, and Leap fits perfectly into that vision,” said Michael Lysemose, Product Developer at TAKT. “We wanted to offer an animal-free option that would still be of high quality and would match with our Design Principles, and …

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Clean Food Group oil

© Clean Food Group
Fermentation

Clean Food Group to Create “Revolutionary” New Raw Materials for Cosmetics Through Transformed Food Waste

UK biotech company Clean Food Group has announced a strategic partnership with cosmetics product developer and manufacturer THG LABS to create groundbreaking raw materials, starting with a low-impact, high-performance oil for use in beauty and personal care products. The collaboration aims to provide the cosmetics industry with more sustainable, effective, and responsible bio-equivalent alternatives to agriculturally intensive ingredients. By transforming food waste into valuable resources, the collaboration aims to reduce the environmental footprint of cosmetics production. The newly announced partnership stems from eight years of pioneering research led by Professor Chris Chuck, Technical Lead at Clean Food Group. The company’s proprietary technology platform uses scalable, non-GMO yeast strains and fermentation processes, utilizing bread waste as a food source to produce sustainable alternatives to conventional oils …

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Apple waste for upcycled leather

© Beyond Leather Materials
Leather Alternatives

Leap by Beyond Leather Materials Earns USDA Biobased Certification with 91% of Apple Waste Content

Denmark’s Beyond Leather Materials announces that its alternative to leather Leap has earned the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product Label, showcasing its 91% biobased content. Made from apple waste from European juice and cider production, Leap is an environmentally friendly, next-gen material that is said to deliver a leather-like performance, feel, and touch for use in small leather goods, furniture, home decor, and soon, automotive. As a 100% animal-free material, Leap has also recently earned the Vegan Trademark certified by The Vegan Society. Mikael Eydt, co-founder and CEO of Beyond Leather, shares, “Earning the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label for Leap® with 91% biobased content is a testament to our commitment to pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved when we …

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Cardholders made with the biomaterial new grain.

Image courtesy of Arda Biomaterials
Materials

Arda Biomaterials & Beavertown Brewery Introduce “First-of-its-Kind” Spent Barley Grain Cardholders

UK upcycled materials startup Arda Biomaterials continues to work on introducing its animal- and plastic-free material New Grain — developed from spent grain from breweries — to the public. Following a partnership with the sustainable brand BEEN London, Arda announces today a collection of sustainable fashion accessories crafted with New Grain, developed using spent brewery barley grain from London’s iconic craft beer producer Beavertown Brewery. TJ Mitchell, CTO of Arda Biomaterials, shares: “This partnership is a perfect example of how we can be fast-movers in supporting local supply chains and contributing to a circular economy, all while offering consumers unique products directly linked to their favourite breweries and distilleries, such as Beavertown.” Cardholders from your favorite beer The collection’s first product is a limited edition …

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Image courtesy of Arda Biomaterials
Leather Alternatives

Animal-Free Snakeskin Handbag Marks Debut from Upcycled Arda Biomaterials & BEEN London in a Benchmark for Fashion

UK upcycled materials startup Arda Biomaterials and sustainable brand BEEN London announce the launch of their first product: a snakeskin-type handbag crafted with an animal- and plastic-free leather-like material called New Grain. Arda’s New Grain, described as an extraordinary next-generation material, is developed from spent grain from breweries, sourced locally from London’s Bermondsey Beer Mile — once a leather tanning district. This launch marks New Grain’s first use of an external product, paving the way for its commercial scalability. The handbag, a version of BEEN’s bestselling MILLAIS bag, will be part of a future collection that includes wallets, laptop cases, and more bag styles. Genia Mineeva, the founder of BEEN London, emphasised the partnership’s role in pioneering sustainable fashion. She added, “As a brand making premium …

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Beyond Leather Materials partners with Veshin

© Beyond Leather Materials/Veshin
Leather Alternatives

Beyond Leather Materials & Veshin Factory Collaborate to ‘Redefine the Material Landscape’ with Upcycled Apple Waste

Beyond Leather Materials, a Danish scale-up producing an alternative to animal leather, has announced a partnership with the sustainably progressive design and manufacturing facility Veshin. Using apple waste from European juice and cider production, Beyond Leather Materials produces an 89% bio-based leather alternative called Leap. Through the new partnership, the two companies will use the material to create products for various markets, including the fashion, home, and furniture sectors. The collaboration will allow brands worldwide to easily source and manufacture products made with Leap. Veshin Factory has been chosen due to its focus on next-gen alternatives to animal-derived materials, along with its commitment to ethical practices and transparency. The facility specializes in luxury bags and accessories made with materials that prioritize the well-being of animals, …

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Apple waste for upcycled leather

© Beyond Leather Materials
Leather Alternatives

Beyond Leather Materials Launches Full-Scale Production of Alt Leather from Upcycled Apple Waste

Danish startup Beyond Leather Materials, a producer and supplier of  Leap — an innovative alternative to traditional leather — announces a significant commercialization milestone: transitioning from R&D to a fully operational B2B supplier, ready to offer its innovative material to various industries. Leap, which stands for “LEftover APples,” utilizes waste from European juice and cider producers to create a biobased material of which every square meter prevents approximately 1.8kg of apple pulp from ending up in landfills. Now, Beyond Leather Materials has launched its first full-scale production line in Germany, marking a significant milestone in revolutionizing the industry through the innovative use of apple waste. Mikael Eydt, CEO and co-founder of Beyond Leather Materials, shares: “More than 6 years of product development and intensive R&D have …

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A collage of the brands that have partnered with Spiber

© Spiber Inc.
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Spiber Raises Over JPY10 Billion for Mass Production of Fermented Proteins for Materials

Spiber Inc., a Japanese biotech “brewing” sustainable materials for the fashion, automotive, and personal care industry, announces it has raised over JPY10 billion (around $65M) in equity financing. Spiber has raised a total funding of $489 million over 9 rounds. The funding, which included additional investments from existing shareholders, will allow the company to accelerate mass production of its innovative Brewed Protein materials and facilitate global sales.  Founded in 2007, Spiber uses precision fermentation and polymer and material science to develop protein-based alternatives to animal and petrochemical materials. Its polymers can be used to make spider silk, wool, cashmere, leather, fur, and more. The company already operates biomanufacturing plants in Thailand and is building another in Iowa, USA. Kazuhide Sekiyama, Director and Representative Executive Officer …

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Sokito drops kangaroo leather

© Sokito
Shoes

Football Boot Brand Sokito Drops Kangaroo Leather in Favour of Vegan Materials

UK-based football boot brand Sokito has announced that it will stop using kangaroo leather due to increasing ethical concerns about the material. In a statement, Sokito explains that the material was once thought to be a sustainable byproduct of kangaroos killed to keep the population in check, but figures now show that the kangaroo population is declining rapidly. This indicates that they are being killed for profit rather than just population control. Furthermore, the killing of kangaroos is not monitored and is often done unethically, with joeys sometimes killed alongside their mothers or left to starve when their mothers are killed. It is also believed that the number of kangaroos in the wild has been inflated, meaning the population is much lower than official figures …

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AMSilk and BRAIN Biotech successfully improve structural proteins for performance biomaterials.

© BRAIN Biotech
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

AMSilk and BRAIN Biotech Achieve Milestone in Biodegradable Materials Performance

German Biotech AMSilk GmbH and BRAIN Biotech, a leading provider of solutions for the biologization industry, have been working for a year to create top-notch protein-based fibers for the performance materials sector. Now, at the end of the first phase of the collaboration, they announce that they have successfully optimized a specific natural structural protein for high-performance biomaterials and registered the first patent application for this optimization process — marking a significant milestone for the future sustainable textile industry. Recently, Gudrun Vogtentanz, CSO at AMSilk, commented: “Together with BRAIN Biotech, we are bringing tailor-made material solutions to the market that not only meet the needs of customers but are sustainable. This will enable us to revolutionize the performance materials market in the long term, which is currently dominated …

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Meat Analogue developed by Lund University

© Lund University
Science

Lund University Researchers Uncover Optimal Raw Material Blend for the Most Appealing Plant-Based Meat

Food technology researchers at Lund University in Sweden have found the best raw material combination to make the most appetizing plant-based meat using extrusion: wheat gluten and hemp seed. The research, led by Karolina Östbring and Jeanette Purhagen, focuses on creating alternatives that mimic the texture and consistency of real meat, addressing the common complaint that vegan food does not deliver the “meaty” experience.   Focusing on texture, temperature, and taste — the three “Ts” — the team discovered a way to introduce chewiness into vegetable meat by imitating muscle fibers, using an extruder and various raw materials.  According to Purhagen, extruders are essential for producing meat analogs with suitable, long fibers, providing the desired chewy texture that people appreciate in meat.  Finding the optimal combination  …

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Mogu has secured €11 million to develop high-quality mycelium solutions for the fashion, interior design, and automotive industries.

© Mogu
Investments & Finance

Italy’s Mogu Raises €11M to Expand Mycelium Materials for Interior Design, Fashion, and Cars

Mogu Srl, an Italian material innovation firm, announces that it has secured €11 million in Series A funding to develop high-quality mycelium solutions for the interior design, fashion, and automotive industries. The company also shares that it will rebrand in a few weeks as SQIM, its widely recognized name. CDP Venture Capital and ECBF VC co-led round with the additional participation of Kering Ventures and previous investor Progress Tech Transfer. The new capital will allow the company to capitalize on its proprietary technological platform by scaling to industrial volumes. In addition, Mogu will further R&D projects in material innovation, open a new demo production plant, and expand its team, “attracting and retaining premier industry talents.” Maurizio Montalti, Chief Mycelium Officer and co-founder of Mogu/SQIM, comments: “This …

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Gucci Billie Eilish

Photo by Tyrell Hampton © Gucci
Non-Food

Billie Eilish Teams Up with Gucci to Debut Iconic Horsebit Bag in Animal-Free Material

Luxury fashion house Gucci announces the launch of its latest iteration of the iconic Horsebit 1955 bag, this time crafted in Demetra, an animal-free alternative material that Gucci has developed in-house. Developed over two years by Gucci’s team of technicians and artisans, Demetra is composed of 75% plant-derived raw materials, including bio-based polyurethane made from non-GMO wheat and corn, plant-based viscose, and wood pulp. This marks the first time that Gucci has used the Demetra material to recreate one of its bags, and the launch is accompanied by a campaign featuring musician Billie Eilish. Eilish, known for her commitment to a vegan lifestyle, told Vogue, “I am honored to be part of Gucci’s evolution in rethinking tradition. It’s a new understanding, and one that isn’t …

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A black jacket made with GOZEN's vegan and plastic-free biomaterial

© GOZEN
Leather Alternatives

GOZEN Secures $3.3M to Produce Plastic-Free Vegan Biomaterial (Stronger than Animal Leather) at Scale

US biomaterials startup GOZEN announces a $3.3 million raise in a seed funding round to scale the production of LUNAFORM, a vegan and plastic-free biomaterial made by microorganisms. The biobased material has multiple applications in the fashion, automotive, and home furnishings industries. Recently, the novel fabric made its debut at Paris Fashion Week in a Balenciaga LUNAFORM Maxi Bathrobe Coat.  Happiness Capital led the round with investors Accelr8, Astor Management, and SOSV, also recognizing GOZEN’s potential to transform the industry through biology. “At GOZEN, we produce advanced biomaterials with the potential to unlock circular design. With this investment, we’ve shown that we have a path to delivering on that potential at scale,” says Ece Gozen, founder and CEO of the biomaterials company. The new funds will also enable the company …

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