Goldwin and Spiber collaborate to develop lab-grown protein materials

Sportswear brand Goldwin and the Yamagata Prefecture-based biotech firm Spiber have collaborated to lessen the significant environmental impact of the fashion and biotechnology industries.

Spiber is creating spun materials with the help of lab-grown and plant-based fibres that go through a microbial fermentation, or brewing process. These materials resemble cashmere. The company has recently partnered with a number of businesses, including the upscale Japanese fashion label Sacai and the California-based Ron Herman.

The company’s 2022 sustainability impact assessment has highlighted that it’s offering, Brewed Protein, consumes 94% less water and contributes 97% less habitat destruction. The assessment also discovered their products have lower associated carbon emissions.

Goldwin, which licences the North Face brand in Japan, has had an eight-year relationship with Spiber. In 2015, the two companies worked together to create a prototype of The North Face Moon Parka which utilized Spiber-produced protein material that resembled the qualities of spider silk.