Designing fashion’s nature positive future
Nature
Stella McCartney SOS Fund
Stella McCartney has joined forces with venture capital firm Collaborative Fund to Launch the $200M SOS Fund, which is aimed at investing in next-gen cleaner businesses, founders, and sustainable solutions. Three of the fund's startups will be exhibiting at this year's fair: Mirum® by NFW, the first scalable, 100% biobased alternative to animal leather made from plants and minerals; Keel Labs, who has innovated Kelsun™, a seaweed-based yarn created from a renewable and abundant biopolymer found in kelp; and Protein Evolution, who is helping to eliminate plastic waste through a biological recycling process pairing enzymes and AI to break down polyester and other synthetic fibres.
Transforming the fashion industry by increasing innovation and reducing impact.
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Why this matters
The fashion industry is over-reliant on plastics and synthetics, with around 342 million barrels of oil used each year to produce materials for clothing, with polyester accounting for 80% of these synthetic fibres. Plastic production results in over 1.6 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, with an estimated 91% of plastic produced not recycled - instead entering landfills, incinerators or missing the collection system altogether. Up to 500,000 tons of microplastics from textiles enter global marine environments annually, harming people, animals and ecosystems.
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What you can do
Support sustainable brands to help make eco-friendly fashion more mainstream and affordable. Go for clothes made from organic or recycled materials, like organic cotton or recycled polyester. Repair and take care of your clothes to cut down on buying new ones.
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![Sos stat 1]()
46.2%
Emissions Cut by 2030
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![Sos stat 2]()
2040
Net-zero Target
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![Sos stat 3]()
$200M
Investment Fund
Speed & Scale
Why is seaweed-based yarn more sustainable?
Kelp is one of the most regenerative organisms on Earth, absorbing
carbon dioxide and creating cleaner, improved marine habitats. Yarn made from seaweed is highly compostable in 61 days, and farming it uses 70x less water and 100% less pesticides and agricultural land compared to conventional cotton.
How is seaweed made into fabric?
The collected seaweed goes through an extraction process that isolates the biopolymer, which is then combined with proprietary additives and water to form a solution. Next, polymer chains link up to form thousands of fine filaments which are stretched, rinsed and applied with finish before being dried and spun into spools of our Kelsun™.
Can you compost polyester?
Protein Evolution is helping to eliminate plastic waste, and reduce the industry’s reliance on fossil fuels, through a biological recycling process pairing enzymes and AI to break down polyester and other synthetic fibres. The company’s Biopure™ technology can transform everything from waste plastic bottles to unwanted clothing into the building blocks of good-as-new polyester,
Vegan leather made from grapes?
Mirum® by NFW, is a world-first all-natural and plastic-free vegan alternative to animal leather crafted from vegetal and mineral ingredients. This next-gen material is durable, versatile and fully circular, capable of being re-engineered into new materials or safely returned to the planet as nutrients.
