Rebecca Manzi Keel Labs has created Kelsun™, a fiber completely made from marine algae biopolymers grown sustainably without damaging natural habitats or wild resources
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The fashion industry is witnessing a sustainable revolution, and one of the most exciting developments is coming from Keel Labs, an innovative company that has introduced Kelsun™-the fiber made completely of seaweed biopolymers.
Kelsun™ presents a real alternative to synthetic fabrics originating from petroleum, the degradation of which takes several hundred years and significantly contributes to the pollution of oceans and landfills. What makes Kelsun™ so different is its very special way of being produced.
Sustainable growth with minimal resources
Unlike materials like cotton, for instance, which needs a great deal of arable land and water resources, Kelsun™ is produced from seaweed grown under cultivation. It is a naturally occurring, fast-growing resource that requires no pesticides or fertilizers, actually improving the quality of ocean water through CO2 absorption. What’s more, Keel Labs sources its seaweed from existing marine farms, with absolutely no harm to natural habitats or wild resources.
Easy to integrate into current production processes
During New York Climate Week, Keel Labs founders Aleks Gosiewski and Tessa Callaghan will present Kelsun™ as a solution ready for implementation today in global textile supply chains. Proof of the potential of Kelsun™ has already been demonstrated through collaborations with notable fashion brands such as Outerknown and Stella McCartney that have used the material to create innovative, sustainable clothing and accessories.
The coolest thing about Kelsun™ is that it doesn’t require any new technologies or equipment, being perfectly compatible with existing production lines, which makes it quite practical and scalable for the fashion industry. One example of how Kelsun™ works is the Kelsun T-Shirt, which was released in January 2024.
This fabric is a collaboration with climate activist Aditi Mayer and is made from a blend of Kelsun™. It has been designed to illustrate how easily Kelsun™ can replace traditional fibers like cotton; at the same time, this T-Shirt reduces the environmental footprint associated with textile manufacturing.
The Kelsun T-Shirt is a very good example of how biomaterials can disrupt the fashion industry in their performance compared to synthetic materials, offering much greater environmental benefits. Keel Labs is leveraging Kelsun™ in various other applications outside of apparel in industries such as automotive, furniture, and household goods.
This development represents the crucial leap to more sustainability in fashion creation within a broad discipline of practices, reducing natural resource usage with a dimming of the environmental footprint from the textile industry to help ensure our planet is preserved for future generations.
Source: Keel Labs
