🌱 Ep 14. Farm to Fibre: Spinning Yarn from Potatoes (x Fashion District)
08/08/24 • 64 min
Special episode: No Ordinary Cloth x Fashion District
In this episode of the No Ordinary Cloth podcast, we chat with David Prior Hope (CTO) and Idan Gal-Shohet (CEO), founders of Fibe, a pioneering company converting potato harvest waste into sustainable cotton-like textile fibres.
Fibe was born out of a final year Masters project at Imperial College, London, aiming to turn agricultural waste into usable materials. Their innovative approach focuses on creating fibres from potato stems, which mimic cotton's feel and function while being more sustainable and cost-effective.
Here, they share about collaborating with agricultural institutes and industry giants like Grimme and McCain, to build a promising startup in just two years that has secured funding from the likes of Patagonia’s Tin Shed Ventures, emphasising their impactful vision to develop a solution that can truly impact the textile industry. They enthusiastically share about their feedstock agnostic technology and the power of storytelling in building a startup.
It wasn't an easy journey, they reflect on their early days working out of a shipping container and how thrilled they were to get just GBP3000 to get their university project off the ground.
The conversation is inspiring and reflects their ambitions for the company to scale up by 2027, and integrate their fibres into existing textile manufacturing processes seamlessly. David and Idan encourage brands and stakeholders to support early-stage innovations, highlighting the transformative potential of such collaborations.
Listen to them share about how they overcame challenges faced in finding funding to continue their R&D and scale their technology, their partnerships with potato farmers and fashion brands, the secret powers of being a student and how they manage a work-life balance while building an early stage startup.
Fibe is the winner of the Fashion District Manufacturing Futures Award for Innovation in 2024.
Get ready to gain a whole new level of respect for potatoes after this episode!
This is the second in a series of 6 episodes in collaboration with Fashion District, who are creating a hub for fashion innovation in east London. They connect fashion, technology, business and education to provide an ecosystem of support for fashion and textile startups that includes innovation networks, affordable space, business support and investment.
Connect with Fibe: website I Instagram I Linkedin
Connect with Fashion District: website I Instagram
Connect with Mili Tharakan: website I Instagram I Linkedin I Buy me a coffee
Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash
Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman
Special episode: No Ordinary Cloth x Fashion District
In this episode of the No Ordinary Cloth podcast, we chat with David Prior Hope (CTO) and Idan Gal-Shohet (CEO), founders of Fibe, a pioneering company converting potato harvest waste into sustainable cotton-like textile fibres.
Fibe was born out of a final year Masters project at Imperial College, London, aiming to turn agricultural waste into usable materials. Their innovative approach focuses on creating fibres from potato stems, which mimic cotton's feel and function while being more sustainable and cost-effective.
Here, they share about collaborating with agricultural institutes and industry giants like Grimme and McCain, to build a promising startup in just two years that has secured funding from the likes of Patagonia’s Tin Shed Ventures, emphasising their impactful vision to develop a solution that can truly impact the textile industry. They enthusiastically share about their feedstock agnostic technology and the power of storytelling in building a startup.
It wasn't an easy journey, they reflect on their early days working out of a shipping container and how thrilled they were to get just GBP3000 to get their university project off the ground.
The conversation is inspiring and reflects their ambitions for the company to scale up by 2027, and integrate their fibres into existing textile manufacturing processes seamlessly. David and Idan encourage brands and stakeholders to support early-stage innovations, highlighting the transformative potential of such collaborations.
Listen to them share about how they overcame challenges faced in finding funding to continue their R&D and scale their technology, their partnerships with potato farmers and fashion brands, the secret powers of being a student and how they manage a work-life balance while building an early stage startup.
Fibe is the winner of the Fashion District Manufacturing Futures Award for Innovation in 2024.
Get ready to gain a whole new level of respect for potatoes after this episode!
This is the second in a series of 6 episodes in collaboration with Fashion District, who are creating a hub for fashion innovation in east London. They connect fashion, technology, business and education to provide an ecosystem of support for fashion and textile startups that includes innovation networks, affordable space, business support and investment.
Connect with Fibe: website I Instagram I Linkedin
Connect with Fashion District: website I Instagram
Connect with Mili Tharakan: website I Instagram I Linkedin I Buy me a coffee
Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash
Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman
Previous Episode
Ep 13. 3D Weaving Yarns into Garments and Zero Inventory Circular Fashion with Beth Esponnette
In this episode of the No Ordinary Cloth podcast, Beth Esponnette, the co-founder of Unspun, shares her groundbreaking innovation in 3D weaving technology that creates garments in a single, seamless piece, revolutionising fashion manufacturing and disrupting the current supply chain. Beth discusses her journey from an assistant professor to a pioneer and founder of Unspun, her challenges in scaling micro factories, and the leadership lessons she learned while captaining Cornell’s Nordic Ski team.
She emphasises the importance of transitioning from linear to circular life cycles to address sustainability, reduce overproduction, and the environmental impact of materials like polyester. Beth draws inspiration from influential thinkers and delves deep into the technical aspects, showcasing a visionary approach to rethinking the supply chain in the textile industry. Listen in to discover how creativity and cutting-edge technology can reshape fashion manufacturing for a more sustainable future.
Beth is fascinated by science and art, especially where they intersect: design. She earned her MFA in Design from Stanford University before serving as Assistant Professor of Product Design at the University of Oregon.
Beth has been recognised for her work by Vogue Business 100 Innovators, MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35, and Adweek Sustainability Stars. Unspun has been recognized by TIME with a Best Invention award twice.
Connect with Unspun
Unspun website I Shop for custom fit jeans I Instagram
Resources
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari
Connect with Mili Tharakan
[email protected] I LinkedIn I Instagram I Podcast survey link
Your support means the world to me! If you enjoyed this episode, consider buying me a coffee
Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash
Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman
Next Episode
🌱 Ep 15. Brewing Beer for Bio-Leather with Brett Cotten (x Fashion District)
Special episode: No Ordinary Cloth x Fashion District
In this episode of the 'No Ordinary Cloth Podcast', we have Brett Cotten, co-founder of Arda Biomaterials, in discussion about their innovative leather alternative, New Grain made from the spent grain waste from breweries. Brett shares the establishment journey of Arda, from its founding in 2022, its recognition among Forbes 30 Under 30 and H&M's Global Change Award, to entering the competitive market with a sustainable solution.
He elaborates on his motivations for starting Arda, his educational background, and the concept of turning pain points into purposes, as described in his book 'Gene Trepeneur'.
The conversation extends to the complex challenges faced in the traditional leather industry, the innovative process behind New Grain, collaborative efforts with breweries, and insights from various accelerator programs.
Key highlights include:
- Turning a pain point into purpose and highlights from his book Gene-trepreneur
- The animal and plastic leather industry’s impact on the environment
- New grain technology and process to turn spent grain into bio-leather
- Challenges of material durability, scaling production of biomaterials, and the promising future of biomaterials in replacing conventional leather and beyond
- Investor relations and challenges
- Arda’s future material roadmap
Grab a cold beer, or your favourite drink, and get comfortable to learn all about taking waste from the craft beer industry and making it into gorgeous leather.
This is the third in a series of 6 episodes in collaboration with Fashion District, who are creating a hub for fashion innovation in east London. They connect fashion, technology, business and education to provide an ecosystem of support for fashion and textile startups that includes innovation networks, affordable space, business support and investment.
Accelerator resources: Entrepreneur First I Tech Nation I Carbon13 I Creative Destruction Lab
Connect with Arda Biomaterials: Website I Linkedin I Instagram
Book: Gene-treprenuer: Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mindset in STEM to Impact Sutainaibility
Connect with Fashion District: Website I Instagram
Connect with Mili Tharakan: Website I Linkedin I Instagram I Buy me a coffee
Email: [email protected]
Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash
Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman
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