New Jersey-based biotech company Modern Meadow has announced a partnership with Taiwan’s Singtex to develop sustainable outdoor apparel.
The new partnership is aimed at scaling sustainable materials free of solvents, like Dimethylformamide (DMF), and free of per- or poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) for the mainstream outdoor apparel market, the companies say.
Modern Meadow is one of the leading producers of bio-based materials. It’s best known for its bio-based BioFabbrica Bio-Tex material which it says can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90 percent compared to traditional leather.
Singtex has been producing woven fabrics since 1989 and is widely known as one of the leaders in eco-friendly textiles. It launched an eco-based dyeing and finishing center in 2007.
“As the consumer demand for products that are environmentally friendly accelerates, this partnership is essential to deliver high-performing sustainable materials at scale to market, creating real-world impact,” Catherine Roggero-Lovisi, CEO of Modern Meadow, said in a statement.
“Modern Meadow and Singtex will engineer each aspect of the product to enable outdoor apparel and gear manufacturers to replace the use of harmful chemicals, petrochemical, and animal byproducts with ethical and environmentally friendly inputs, meet more stringent consumer demands and achieve sustainability goals.”
Sustainable material, superior material
The companies are developing a bio-derived membrane-based material that they say protects human health and the environment while delivering a superior waterproof, breathable, and durable performance.
Modern Meadow’s Bio-Alloy is behind the material — it’s a proprietary technology application platform that makes materials sustainable and highly durable across a range of applications. The company says its tech can drop into existing infrastructures in a scalable way across textiles, beauty, and other industries.
“It’s a pleasure to start working with Modern Meadow and play to each of our unique strengths to deliver true impact in this space,” Jason Chen, Singtex Group’s chairman, said. “Together, we are excited to work towards unveiling our new environmentally sustainable bio-based product that is ready to ring in the next generation of sustainable, high-performance textiles.”
Modern Meadow said its Bio-Alloy is a proprietary technology application platform that delivers unique performance and sustainability to materials, while the Bio-Alloy technology brings a special set of mechanical and thermal properties to materials for a range of applications.
Modern Meadow’s Bio-Alloy tech earned it recognition by Fast Company‘s Innovation by Design Awards for 2022 in the Fashion and Beauty, Materials, and Sustainability categories. The Bio-Alloy is one of only 13 miscible blends with commercial applications in the world. Its special set of mechanical and thermal properties can transform a range of materials in an immediate and scalable way across textiles, beauty products, and other industries.
“A common theme among this year’s Innovation by Design honorees, which range from healthcare interfaces to autonomous driving technology, is permanence,” said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “The products that leaped out to our editors and judges went against our quick-fix consumer culture, while also manifesting a more inclusive vision of design.”
“We have worked tirelessly to create an innovative technology platform that can be dropped into any brand’s existing infrastructure in order to make the use of sustainable materials more adoptable, scalable, and ultimately drive consumer change,” said Roggero-Lovisi. “We are honored that Fast Company has recognized that our Bio-Alloy technology can make an impact in so many different categories.”
Recombinant collagen protein
The new partnership with Singtex also follows Modern Meadow’s recent announcement that it had successfully developed a recombinant protein from yeast inspired by Collagen type III.
“We harness unique properties of proteins to move the world away from petrochemical and animal-derived inputs, leading to a shift in the bioeconomy,” Isabelle Hansenne-Cervantes, VP of R&D at Modern Meadow, said in a statement.
“Using a deep understanding of the molecular biology and fermentation process, we engineer the yeast strain to produce the ‘biocollagen’ which stimulates the Collagen III production in human skin cells,” Hansenne-Cervantes said. “We bypass the conventional animal-based extraction methods and provide cosmetics a more sustainable and efficacious method.”
Related on Ethos:
