Alt Materials

This year has kicked off with a host of encouraging developments for the alternative materials category, from plant-based leather bags and animal-free fur jackets to the revival of an industry pioneer. The fashion industry's impact on…
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UK sustainable packaging firm Notpla and 14 supporting partners have received a €4M ($4.7M) grant from the Horizon Europe programme to create a plastic-free, home-compostable coffee cup. Can seaweed help the coffee industry win its…
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Japanese cellular agriculture specialist IntegriCulture has introduced Cellag, a brand to sell its own products, as well as those by other companies, across the food, cosmetics, and materials categories. To drive greater interest and…
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US biomaterials firm Uncaged Innovations, which produces plastic-free leather alternatives with grain byproducts, has welcomed Natalie Portman as a strategic partner. A long-time vegan known for her animal rights and ethical advocacy,…
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British tissue engineering company BSF Enterprise, owner of Lab-Grown Leather and cultivated meat firm 3D Bio-Tissues, has secured £15M ($19.8M) in fresh funding. To speed up the commercialisation of its cellular agriculture…
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Eco materials firm Qorium has raised €22M ($25M) in Series A funding from private investors and the Dutch government to commercialise its lab-grown leather. Qorium, a startup producing leather from cultured cow cells, has taken a major…
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Australian eco materials firm Uluu has raised A$16M ($10.5M) to build a demo facility and scale up its technology to turn seaweed into bioplastics. Aiming to replace plastic in everything from clothes and packaging to car interiors and…
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British eco fashion pioneer Stella McCartney debuted a new collection featuring a plant-based alternative to bird feathers at Paris Fashion Week. The Spring/Summer 2026 runways in Paris introduced the world to a new kind of feather,…
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The fashion industry emits 8.3 million tonnes of methane every year, and animal-derived materials are primarily to blame. Experts say non-action would mean climate and health disasters. Leather, cashmere and cotton are pushing fashion…
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Australian accessories brand Bellroy has debuted a new range of iPhone and AirPods cases that ditch leather for an animal-free alternative. When Apple announced it was replacing leather with an in-house, eco-friendly alternative during…
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South Korean carmaker Hyundai has partnered with US biomaterials startup Uncaged Innovations to develop animal- and plastic-free leather alternatives for its vehicles. Hyundai is the latest auto giant to embrace sustainable leather,…
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Singapore's Greenitio has closed a $1.5 million seed funding round to turn mushroom-based chitosan into functional biopolymers for cosmetics and specialty chemicals. A biotech startup from Singapore has attracted $1.5M from investors to…
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US biotech startup Cultivated Biomaterials has created Angelry, a line of jewellery made with the cultivated leather from the cells of a sanctuary-grazing cow. Beef may be the cattle industry's climate Achilles' heel, but its…
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Seaweed packaging pioneer Notpla piloted a rugby-ball-inspired sustainable drinks carrier at last month's match between England XIV and France XIV. While England and France's rugby players battled it out at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium…
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Animal-free leather startup Modern Meadow has signed a deal with auto giant Mercedes-Benz to develop an alternative material for its technology programme. Mercedes-Benz has become the latest carmaker to attempt to ditch conventional…
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Swedish eco-materials innovator Circulose has launched a scale-up platform and notched partnerships with H&M and Mango to advance circularity in the fashion industry. Circulose, the Swedish materials firm known for its…
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British material science company Pangaia has debuted 365 Seamless Activewear, a five-piece collection featuring bio-based nylon and an elastane alternative with 98% renewable resources. To reduce the clothing industry's reliance on…
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London-based Solena Materials has secured $6.7M in seed funding for its microbial protein fibres, which are created using AI and provide a plastic-free alternative for the fashion industry. Making fibres from microbial proteins, Solena…
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French startup Faircraft has acquired the assets of fellow lab-grown leather maker VitroLabs in a bid to reach industrial-scale production of the alternative material. In a major consolidatory move in the nascent lab-grown leather…
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US startup Hiro Technologies has unveiled MycoDigestible Diapers, which come with plastic-eating fungi that break the material down in landfill. What can mycelium not do? It can feed humans, stand in for leather, turn into sustainable…
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Eco fashion pioneer Pangaia has launched (gaia)PLNT Nylon, a sportswear capsule collection derived from a bio-based, fossil-free monomer. British material science firm Pangaia has unveiled its latest sustainable clothing innovation,…
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