Brooklyn's Kintra fibers — used by Pangaia, H&M and more — raised $8 million in funding.
Unlike traditional polyester, which relies on fossil fuel-based inputs, Kintra sources 100-percent bio-based inputs derived from corn glucose to create its proprietary resin. Last year, Kintra joined Fashion for Good’s raw material cohort and shared its first fabric prototype. This year, Kintra is launching a pilot with a consortium of Fashion For Good brand partners, which includes Bestseller, Inditex and Reformation.
There are other lures for industry investors. The Kintra fiber itself is biodegradable in an oxygen-rich environment but can also be chemically recycled given it’s produced on the same equipment as polyester, though with a lower energy use per estimates from Kintra. “What our LCA shows, unequivocally, is that with Kintra greenhouse emissions are reduced by 95 percent compared to traditional polyester,” Baier-Lentz reiterated. She said the Series A will be used for the material’s commercial milestones as well as its “manufacturing commitment” at its Brooklyn Navy Yard lab. “The goal of the first round of funding was to create our MVP, a stable, spinnable resin that can compete with polyester at an industrial setting,” she said.
With 250 kilograms of resin produced to date on a pilot line, Kintra is currently expanding to a commercial facility with the support of its Series A funding. The firm hopes to move into commercial scale and produce its first ton at the end of year. Baier-Lentz said Kintra will eventually reach price parity with recycled polyester and even virgin polyester when Kintra reaches plant-scale operations. At that point, agricultural waste and even algae can be used as feedstock.
“Innovations like this that help reduce our reliance on fossil fuel-based synthetics are essential to our sustainability efforts at Reformation, particularly our goal to be Climate Positive by 2025,” shared Kathleen Talbot, chief sustainability officer and vice president of operations at Reformation. “It’s on us as an industry to take an active role in scaling next generation solutions, like Kintra, that have the potential to power the future of fashion.
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