Natural Fiber Welding upgrades waste cotton and recycled fibers. Its products include Clarus-brand natural fibers and a completely biobased leather alternative called Mirum.
Participants in the round include Evolution VC Partners, Tattarang, Lewis & Clark AgriFood, Collaborative Fund, AiiM Partners, Engine No.1, Raga Partners, Tidal Impact, Scrum Ventures, Gaingels, BMW i Ventures, Ralph Lauren, Advantage Capital, and Central Illinois Angels.
“We envision a world that doesn’t rely on plastic, where abundant natural materials enable people and the planet to thrive together,” says NFW’s CEO Luke Haverhals, who founded the company in 2015. “We’re here to leave the world better than we found it and we look forward to working with our brand partners to build a comprehensively circular coalition for the planet.”
According to the company, more new plant matter grows in an average day on earth than the sum total of all the petroleum-derived materials produced in a year. Yet, the textile industry is dependent on plastics, despite there being an essentially limitless supply of natural, circular materials that can be regeneratively sourced.