Textiles Made From Lab-Grown Fibers

Textiles Made From Lab-Grown Fibers There’s a new way to think about natural materials, thanks to an innovative company cultivating them in test tubes. Boston-based startup GALY is leading the charge with Literally Cotton, a lab-grown fiber. The company, founded in 2019 by Luciano Bueno, is on a mission to find ethical and sustainable agriculture solutions. It replicates cells from cotton plants in lab conditions. That’s a big deal, as cotton plantations utilize over 85 million acres worldwide, and it takes approximately 713 gal. of water to produce the cotton for a single T-shirt. Lab-grown cotton, in contrast, uses 99% less water and 97% less land than traditional production methods while producing 77% fewer CO2 emissions. GALY cotton doesn’t start with a seed but a tiny piece of a mature cotton plant (typically a leaf). The cells are placed in a nutrient-rich petri dish and reprogrammed into totipotent cells, similar to human stem cells, which are then programmed to grow into cotton fibers. While traditionally grown cotton might take six months to reach maturity, lab-grown is ready within 20 to 40 days, with multiple “harvests” possible over the year. And, because the cotton is grown in controlled environments, it’s free of dirt, plant debris, and even hulls and seeds. This makes it ideal for bandages and other medical uses. Years of hard work are ahead before the strategy makes commercial sense. Still, GALY has financial support from numerous apparel brands and was named one of 2024’s best inventions by Time Magazine. The company plans to expand its cellular agriculture platform beyond cotton. They may find competition once they get there. Many companies are looking to transform plant waste into textiles. Fibe, a London-based material science company, is creating textile fibers from potato waste. This specialty yarn is made from the stems and leaves of potato plants, an inedible material that often goes to waste. According to Fibe, over 150 million tons of potato waste are left to rot each year. The company believes its patent-pending technology could put them to use, replacing up to an astonishing 70% of the world’s fiber demand. They argue that potato fiber has a similar diameter to cotton, making it applicable for uses ranging from heavy canvas to breathable shirts. Potato fiber production may use over 99% less water and create 82% fewer carbon emissions than current textile industry practices. Another plant with fiber potential is bananas. Qwstion, a Swiss company, is perfecting Bananatex, a fabric made from banana plant waste. So far, the material has been featured in a line of sneakers for the luxury brand Balenciaga. It remains to be seen how effective these innovative fabrics will prove in the long term. Still, in these early days, they seem to have the potential to transform the world of textiles as we know it. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, GALY (www.galy.co), Fibe (www.fibe.uk) or Qwstion (www.qwstion.com).

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