This company has a way to replace plastic in clothing

Luke Haverhals wants Change the way of making yoga pants. Most of the high-performance fabrics used in sportswear, such as spandex, are basically made of synthetic fiber-plastic.There is a problem with these plastics People and the environment. Haverhals’ company, Natural fiber welding, Provides an alternative to synthetic fabrics.

NFW produces a high-performance cotton textile called Clarus, which can be used in clothing. The fabric is made of treated cotton, which can partially decompose organic materials to make it stronger and denser. The result is that cotton yarn behaves more like synthetic fibers.

When asked whether his company was a technology company or a textile company, Haverhals answered without hesitation. “We are a technology company…but our first focus is on textiles.”

Haverhals has a PhD in Chemistry and started his professional teaching career at the Naval Academy in 2008. There, he worked with a team of chemists and materials scientists on ionic liquids, which are basically molten salts. These salts usually remain liquid at room temperature and can be used as solvents to decompose biomass such as cotton and cellulose. In 2009, with funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the team made a major breakthrough in the use of ionic liquids to enhance natural fibers.

The team asked what would happen if the natural fibers were partially broken down and then welded or fused together. The result is a monofilament cotton. Although the original fiber may be only a few centimeters long, the partially dissolved and fused fiber can be made longer. This creates a stronger yarn that mimics the performance characteristics of synthetic fibers.

In 2016, Haverhals left the Naval Academy and founded NFW with funding from the Department of Defense and a license from the Air Force to produce yarn and textiles using a process later called “fiber welding”. The company has obtained eight patents worldwide, and 90 of them are pending.

Haverhals and NFW have won praise from critics of plastics — and marketing campaigns that claim to have eliminated them.People are getting worried Plastic microfiber Synthetic materials such as polyester will fall off every time the washing machine turns. “I think he (Luke) is a real trader, and I think there are very few people who really trade,” Sian Sutherland said. Plastic Planet, A non-profit organization that aims to eliminate the use of plastic. “This is not only to eliminate fossil fuels in the textile industry, but besides that, it is also related to toxins.”

NFW has attracted a few big-name investors, including Ralph Lauren, BMWIVentures, and Whole birdIn July of this year, the company stated that it had raised US$15 million from private investors, bringing its total to US$45 million. Some of the funds are used to expand its plant in Peoria, Illinois, and it is now working to expand the production scale to hundreds of thousands of square feet of Clarus per month. In September, NFW announced a Cooperation with Patagonia Introduce Clarus fiber into some of the brand’s new products. Haverhals said that hundreds of brands are lining up to buy the company’s textiles for use in their products. He stated that NFW will provide manufacturers with standardized products and cooperate with brands that wish to develop specialized textiles.

Another product line of NFW, Mirum, is a plant-based leather substitute.It is made of something similar Coconut shell, natural rubber or cork And use patented chemistry without petrochemical additives to cure or enhance durability. This distinguishes Mirum from other synthetic materials that rely on harsh chemical treatments to achieve the desired consistency or feel. The company positions it as a substitute for leather in products such as car interiors and shoes. Allbirds plans to start selling shoes Made it with Mirum soon.

Kasper Sage, managing partner of BMW’s iVentures venture capital division, said that NFW is very promising because its products are of high quality and sustainable, and technology is scalable, which is very important for automakers. “This is the only company we have found… trying to solve this problem, it has the potential to really play a role in serious car production,” Sage said.