Recently, Kintra Fibers, a manufacturer of bio-based polyester materials, announced that it has received $8 million in Series A funding backed by H&M Group Ventures, with co-investors Fashion for Good, Bestseller's Invest Fwd financing arm, New York Ventures, Tech Council Ventures and Fab Ventures, Parade.
Kintra's products
In December 2020, Pangaia, an American eco-minimalist brand, announced Kintra Fibers to help patent and commercialize the company's technology.
According to its patent (Patent No. WO2022140672A1), Kintra Fibers' first product is a 100% bio-based polybutylene succinate (PBS) nanocomposite. Unlike bio-based PET, which also remains non-degradable, Kintra fibers are designed to biodegrade in an aerobic environment and the air yarn products are ASTM D6400 / ISO 14855-1 tested for aerobic biodegradation under controlled composting conditions.
Similar in appearance, feel and performance to conventional polyester (PET) and nylon, it is suitable for existing industrial infrastructure and can be extruded into yarns in the same facilities that produce polyester and nylon, which allows it to scale quickly and cost-effectively to compete with recycled polyester.
Relatively low manufacturing temperatures can reduce energy use by approximately 20%.
This resin and yarn material made from corn and wheat cane sugar is significantly more affordable and, because chemically or mechanically recycled PET and nylon still shed microfibers and are not biodegradable, it can be a sustainable alternative to synthetic materials such as PET, rPET or nylon in the textile production supply chain, making it an effective solution to microplastic marine pollution.
Kintra expects to achieve commercial availability of the product by 2024.
