2022: Looking Ahead
The new year is here, and at Natural Fiber Welding, we could not be more excited about what’s to come. 2022 will bring more exciting product launches, new partnerships and a continued focus on making a material-rich, plastic-free future possible.
Here’s a look at what’s to come in the year ahead:
CLARUS® apparel hits the market
2022 is set to be a banner year for CLARUS®, our patented technology platform creating categorically new, all-natural, plastic-free performance textiles. We worked with our brand partner, Ralph Lauren, to create the first ever CLARUS apparel. These products are the result of years of intentional hard work and exploration, and we can’t wait to share more when they are released.
The CLARUS textile platform technology uses patented fiber welding to imbue 100% natural yarns with previously unachievable performance. This technology marries the sustainability of natural materials with the performance features of synthetic fabrics. CLARUS technologies can ingrain features like stretch, durability and moisture-wicking into natural fibers.
Expanding into apparel following the launch of CLARUS in footwear last year opens up a world of possibility for future applications. Stay tuned for more on our launch with Ralph Lauren later this month.
MIRUM® momentum builds
We have been working hard behind the scenes with key partners on some exciting MIRUM® product development, and in 2022, many of these products will hit the market.
MIRUM is a categorically new, plant-based material that is perfect for footwear, fashion, automotive, and accessories. MIRUM’s miraculous customizability means it can look like leather or carbon fiber — you decide. MIRUM is a high-performance solution for designers and brands looking to minimize their footprint and expand their creative palettes. At the end of its life, MIRUM can be recycled into new MIRUM or ground up and returned to the earth.
This year, MIRUM will be expanding into footwear, apparel, and more. You can find out more about the MIRUM technology and products at our MIRUM website.
Measuring our impact
At NFW, we’re obsessed with leaving the world better than we found it. We are constantly assessing our processes and ingredients to make sure they’re as sustainable as possible. Our impact matters tremendously to us, and one way to measure that impact is through life cycle assessment (LCA.)
LCA is a tool that calculates the environmental impact of products over the course of their lifespan. In the textiles industry, we can look at the overall impact of products like apparel, furniture and footwear and see where we can make improvements.
This year, data from NFW’s first LCA will be released. This assessment will give us a first look at how we're optimizing our materials for minimal environmental impact. It’s an important step in understanding and assessing how our products impact the environment. Our goal will be to share what an LCA can reveal through the lens of our own products and processes, as well as where its limitations are. For NFW, this is a powerful tool that can give us further insight into what we’re doing well, and where we can further improve our technology to be even more environmentally responsible.
A focus on ingredients
NFW began as a way to unlock nature’s potential, giving industries and innovators categorically new material platforms to create responsibly. That is the foundation of everything we do. To achieve that, it’s essential that we are working with natural, sustainably-sourced ingredients.
This year, we are committed to continually improving our supply chain, and sharing our story along the way. We’re going to bring you along for the journey, and give you a closer look at the ingredients we use, and how we use them.
We are proud of our biobased ingredients, and we are committed to sourcing the best options available, in the most sustainable ways possible. We hope that by sharing what we’ve learned we can inspire others in the industry too.
