Natural Fiber Welding

The fourth edition of the industry report on NextGen materials by Material Innovation Initiative finds that close to $500 million was invested in the sector in the past year.

Even though a 10-year track from 2013-22 shows that capital invested in next-gen material sector continues with an upward momentum, the last year saw funding drop by almost 50%.

The world's first regenerative sneakers — Degenerate — made with 100% plants and minerals and zero plastic, will decompose at end of life to birth something entirely new. The product comes from regenerative fashion company Unless Collective and plant based material innovation company Natural Fiber Welding.

US-based Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) is teaming up with Stella McCartney, Allbirds, Reformation and Pangaia, claiming to produce the most traceable and low-carbon Mirum, a plant-based plastic-free leather alternative ever made. texfash.com reports.

Natural Fiber Welding— the name says much about NFW’s vision for a world that will be material-rich and plastic-free. The people behind it claim to be “obsessed with leaving the world better than we found it” and so they are on a mission to invent and “manufacture shockingly sustainable materials” from plants. The CEO & Founder of NFW Luke Haverhals tells texfash.com how he is leading his company “a moonshot systems-level shift away” from petroleum-derived products and toxic chemistries.

The sixth mass extinction, the first such extinction caused by a single species – our own, may already be under way. Thankfully, to usher in a new era in fashion that doesn’t threaten our ecosystems and health, some players are coworking on ocean science, circular economy, and textile and materials innovation to evaluate innovations needed to prevent microfibre pollution.