Textile Insight

textileinsight.com Fall 2023 ~ Textile Insight • 21 biodegradable textile, using nature's universal building blocks: lipids, protein, and sugar," Demirel explains. e bio-synthetic squid ring teeth proteins are extracted from the bacterial solution as a powder, which is dissolved in a solvent and wet spun in a process similar to lyocell. Squitex' manufacturing process exhibits fewer environmental impacts and a smaller carbon footprint, compared with fibers made from fossil fuels. "Bacterial fermentation is a low- temperature process," Demirel points out. Winner of the 2021 Microfiber Innovation Challenge, Squitex can be used to create self- healing textiles, or to coat other fibers to limit microfiber shedding. Squitex fiber blends well with natural or cellulosic fibers, and provides elasticity for activewear or denim without polyurethane's biodegradability issues. The company is currently on the path to creating a capsule apparel collection, using a woven blend of Squitex and cotton; with a denim launch to come in 2024, and active wear in 2025. "Our partners are lined up," Demirel reveals. "But our challenge is the cost of Squitex vs. plastic." His hope is to reach cost parity with lyocell. Creating Textiles from CO2 Emissions Rubi Laboratories, Inc., is not the first biotech to recognize the potential for using CO2 emissions as a feedstock to create products; but the San Francisco Bay startup's unique technology is the first of its kind to convert CO2e into cellulosic textiles through a cell-free, enzymatic biocatalysis process. In other words, Rubi's enzymatic process speeds up biochemical reactions to efficiently capture and convert CO2 into cellulose, which then can be made into pulp, fibers, yarns, and eventually fabrics. CEO Neeka Mashouf explains, "Rubi's pat- ent-pending technology is built to capture CO2 from the waste streams of manufacturing facil- ities at any concentration using its proprietary enzyme system. Our goal is for the materials in the system required for carbon capture to be regenerated in its process, designed to be cyclical, rather than linear, in production." "e CO2 molecule is then transformed through a cascade of biochemical reactions," she continues, "one-by-one shaping and cra- ing the base molecule that is polymerized into long cellulose chains." e converted cellulose is used to create lyocell yarn for clothing and materials, with 100 percent of CO2 inputted to the end product. Scientists Neeka and her twin sister Leila co-founded Rubi Labs in 2021 aer inventing and prototyping the technology in a public biohacking lab. According to Neeka, "We are currently deep in R&D which grants us the opportunity to experiment, learn and optimize our processes. We've run through the whole CO2-to-cellulose process and done it successfully. We've made yarn and tested it in textile settings. Rubi's first material is lyocell, which we intend to get to price parity with standard man-made cellulosic fibers at scale." e company is in pilot partnerships with brands like Reformation, GANNI, Nuuly, H&M, Patagonia and Walmart. "Rubi and Walmart both believe all customers should Samsara's enzymes act like little Pacmen to depolymerize plastics. Squitex Microfiber Innovation Challenge

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