Biomaterials company Keel Labs has launched a T-shirt made from Kelsun fibre, the company's flagship product made from seaweed.
The product: The Kelsun T-shirt was created to demonstrate Kelsun's plug-and-play potential in replacing conventional fibres used in the textile industry.
- The T-shirt marks the first Kelsun garment made using industry-standard knitting machines.
- It was created using a yarn blend of 70% Kelsun and 30% cotton, showcasing Kelsun's simple familiarity in a jersey knit—one of the most fundamental knit constructions.
- The Kelsun T-shirt also features a screen print using Living Ink's Algae Ink, printing Keel Labs' signature brand element, the Spun K, on the T-shirt's pocket.
- The garment was brought to life by climate activist Aditi Mayer.
The context: In an industry that produces 21 billion tonnes of textile waste annually, Kelsun functions as an alternative to conventional, resource-intensive materials, like cotton, that fashion and textiles has long relied on.
- Kelsun claims to reduce water usage by 70X and land use by 100% when compared to cotton by utilising seaweed, one of the world's most regenerative and renewable organisms.
- By translating the abundant seaweed supply chain into fibre production on industry-standard equipment, Kelsun is being projected as a drop-in solution for textile supply chains that delivers positive impacts to an industry in urgent need of mitigating its environmental impact.
Keel’s work: Keel Labs functions as a platform for innovation, working to create new applications for Kelsun in apparel and accessories, as well as new product categories like automotive, home goods, furnishings, and interiors.
- The company's work is predicated on creating an accessible and utilitarian product with Kelsun: a widely applicable fibre that looks, feels, and performs like the materials the world knows, while taking the guesswork out of sustainably-created textiles.
What they said:
This launch is about so much more than creating a T-shirt—it's our mission come-to-life, offering the industry a product that can be produced at scale. In partnership with Aditi Mayer, we're demonstrating to the fashion industry and consumers alike that next-gen material solutions are here, and they're able to be implemented in brands' and their partners' supply chains today.
— Aleks Gosiewski
Co-Founder and COO
Keel Labs
The Kelsun T-Shirt is fashion's latest proof point that biomaterials are ready to revolutionize the industry at large. We are excited to debut our first in-house garment created using Kelsun, with the Kelsun T-shirt serving as the start of global product and brand launches to come.
— Tessa Callaghan
Co-Founder and CEO
Keel Labs
With a brand's material choices alone being responsible for over half its total emissions, there's a dire need for the industry to revisit its chosen fibres. As someone who has long challenged the presence of fossil fuels in fashion and has opted for nature-based solutions instead, Kelsun's ability to create an option that integrates a renewable source, addresses fashion's plastics problem, while also eliminating pesticide use and agricultural land use is incredibly promising.
— Aditi Mayer
Climate activist
