Pangaia partners with Spiber on ‘Brewed Protein’ Fiber Capsule

The next achievement to emerge from Pangaia‘s lab is a limited-edition hoodie created partially from brewing proteins.

The capsule, which launched on Tuesday, represents the start of a multiyear collaboration between Pangaia and Japanese biotech start-up Spiber Inc., and is the first time Spiber’s “Brewed Protein” fibers and organic cotton have been used in a major garment launch. The amount of money invested in the cooperation isn’t known, but Spiber is one of the most well-funded material companies, having raised more than $600 million since 2015.

Dr. Amanda Parkes, Pangaia’s chief innovation officer, said that this is our first product with Spiber, and they will continue to create other products using Brewed Protein fibers. Brewed Protein fibers, according to Parkes, are already a “disruptive” option in the fight to replace non-carbon-polluting materials.

Spiber Inc., which was founded in September 2007, uses cutting-edge synthetic biology, polymer, and material science to create Brewed Protein materials, which are created from plant-based sugars that go through a microbial fermentation process.

Pangaia and Spiber met many years ago and joined together on the “same conviction” that biofabrication could provide the fashion industry with far more ethical solutions, according to Parkes.

The “Nxt Gen” hoodie is available for $395 on pangaia.com in sizes XXS to XXL and is limited to less than 200 pieces. The sweatshirt is on exhibit at the Biofabricate Summit in New York City, and is constructed of a blend of only 12% Brewed Protein fiber and 88 percent organic cotton.

Kenji Higashi, Spiber’s head of business development, sales and sustainability, said that few companies have the resources or patience to work with a brand-new material like Brewed Protein Fiber to produce a one-of-a-kind product. Working with the Pangaia team has been a fantastic experience. They’re really thrilled to see the world’s first sweatshirts featuring Brewed Protein fiber being created by Pangaia after over two years of joint development.