Several renewable textile companies are among the winners picked by program partners Fashion for Good and Plug and Play. Agraloop uses waste from fibrous food crop production, including hemp, flax, banana, and pineapple to produce textiles using conventional cotton machinery. Amadou produces a leather alternative from the skin of amadou mushrooms and has already made protoype footwear and accessories. Dropel has developed a biodegradable polymer that can be used with natural fibers to repel watery and oily substances—thus expanding the lifespan of clothing. MycoTex shapes mushroom-based textiles with molds, eliminating the need for spinning and weaving. Pili-bio uses microorganisms to produce dyes, while Tipa is using bioplastics for packaging solutions.
The program will aid these companies in development, scale-up, and exposure to both venture capitalists and the fashion in industry at large.