Recently, sportswear giant Lululemon announced a partnership with sustainable materials company Genomatica to launch shirts made from plant-based nylon. Instead of using petroleum from coal, natural gas or crude oil in the production process, Genomatica uses biotechnology and fermentation to convert plant-based ingredients into the building blocks that make up nylon. These shirts are made of 50% bio-sourced nylon, 40% recycled polyester and 30% elastane.
"Today marks a major achievement: biotechnology has successfully used plant sugar fermentation in the chemical building blocks of nylon manufacturing, bringing to life renewable plant-based nylon." Christophe Schilling, founder of Genomatica, said in a statement. "The plant takes in carbon dioxide from the air and, with sunlight providing energy, converts it into sugar, which can be collected and then goes into the Geno process." Schilling told CNBC. The company says that based on a preliminary life-cycle analysis, bio-nylon will reduce carbon emissions by at least 50 percent.
