US-based Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) is teaming up with Stella McCartney, Allbirds, Reformation and Pangaia to produce the most traceable and low-carbon Mirum, a plant-based plastic-free leather alternative ever made.
The project: The Mirum will use Climate Beneficial cotton from C4, a project of Fibershed. LCA data indicates that Mirum's carbon footprint is already one-tenth lower than that of conventional leathers and plastic-based alternatives.
- The fabric backer on Mirum, however, offers an opportunity to push its carbon footprint lower still.
- By using cotton grown with practices regenerating soil health for this fabric backer, NFW will set an even higher standard of sustainability for leather-like materials.
- As a member of C4, NFW is working directly with farmers in California and supporting their transition to agricultural practices that regenerate soil health and draw down carbon.
- The collaboration with Stella McCartney, Allbirds, Reformation and Pangaia–some of whom will bring Mirum made with Climate Beneficial cotton to life in their product lines–is essential to seeding and growing this radical change.
The NFW approach: NFW’s plants, not plastics approach to material science and commitment to developing a regenerative supply chain helps catalyse critical shifts in land stewardship, labour transparency and the industry's role in the climate crisis.
- Stakeholders along the whole cotton supply chain (from farmers, spinners, mills, to brands) are normally not in communication as textile development traditionally happens, with brands purchasing fabric from a contract manufacturer who has purchased yarn from a spinner (another contract manufacturer) who has purchased cotton from a merchant, which allows for little-to-no transparency back to the farm, agricultural practices and labour conditions. C4, on the other hand, works in the opposite direction: farm-forward.
The cotton: The California Cotton & Climate Coalition (C4) is a relationship building project in which stakeholders across the textile supply chain work together to bring a new agronomic and textile development system forward that is generating natural material goods for the marketplace.
- By working together, risk is shared by all partners, which is critical to implementing innovative practices on-farm, in the mill, and in the development of new goods.
- The Coalition aims to build capacity within all stakeholders to grow, source, and develop climate beneficial, farm-forward textiles and supply chains in the future without the help of the coalition.
- The Coalition is led by Fibershed in partnership with White Buffalo Land Trust, Torus, Materevolve, Chico State University, Agri Technovation, Carbon Cycle Institute, Bowles Farming Company and Stone Land Company.
About Mirum: Mirum is a categorically new, zero plastic, plant-based material that is perfect for footwear, fashion, automotive, and accessories. Mirum’s miraculous customisability means it can look like leather or carbon fibre. Mirum is a high-performance solution for designers and brands looking to shrink their footprint and expand their creative palettes. At the end of its life, Mirum can be recycled into new Mirum or ground up and returned to the earth: At last, a climate-friendly, plastic-free option.
What they said:
We partnered with C4 to work side by side with leaders who are making the transition to regenerative agriculture in the textile industry and fashion space possible. The partnership allows NFW to deliver a product that sets a new sustainability standard towards reversing climate change and we’re so appreciative of our brand partners who make this all possible.”
— Oihana Elizalde
Vice President and Mirum General Manager
Natural Fiber Welding
Since I launched Stella in 2001, I have dreamed of a plant-based alternative to leather created in harmony with nature. Mirum is that vegan vision brought to life – so realistic without any plastic, on a regenerative cotton backing that helps to improve biodiversity and soil health while sequestering carbon to fight climate change.
— Stella McCartney
Allbirds has bold ambitions to reduce per-unit emissions to near zero by the year 2030, with regenerative agriculture being one of our strategic levers to get there. We’re excited to once again be an early partner to NFW and continue stretching the known limits of the natural world.
— Jad Finck
Vice-President of Innovation
Allbirds
Reformation is thrilled to continue investing in more sustainable materials at the farm and fiber level alongside C4 and NFW. It's an important step as we work towards achieving climate positivity and reaching our goal to have 100% of our fabrics be from recycled, regenerative or renewable materials. We're excited to work alongside like-minded brands to demonstrate the importance of collective action.
— Kathleen Talbot
Chief Sustainability Officer and VP of Operations
Reformation
Partnering with sustainability-conscious brands like Allbirds, Pangaia, Reformation and Stella McCartney, together we will create products that help usher in a materials revolution that is both circular and regenerative. Consumers will now understand where their cotton products originate from, putting transparency at the forefront of textile purchasing. Working directly with C4 and Fibershed to secure cotton that is both Climate Beneficial and farm-forward, we are collaboratively creating a new model of production that helps regenerate soil health, build relationships with farmers, balance the carbon cycle and transform the material economy to work in harmony with Earth’s biological systems.
— Luke Haverhals
Chief Executive Officer
Natural Fiber Welding
