Earlier this month, Patagonia announced that it will make its next jacket out of “spider silk”, or at least a laboratory based copy. For the company behind that innovation, California’s Bolt Threads, the jacket is only the beginning and could be the start of a material transition in the fibre industry more broadly.

After studying the silk proteins found in nature and their combination of valuable properties, the Bolt Threads team have been able to replicate the protein using yeast, sugar and water in a large scale fermentation process, which they then spin into fibres and turned into textiles. Perhaps most intriguingly, the process is reportedly highly customisable, in terms of characteristics like strength, softness and stretch, meaning that a whole range of new innovative product possibilities are potentially opened up.

The products are expected to look and feel quite different from traditional synthetic silk, as well as being easier to wash and wear. Bolt Threads aim to offer superior performance characteristics in the final garments and could eventually be a bio-sourced alternative to fossil fuel based polyester products.

Find out more about the Bolt Threads innovation.

Lead image; Photo credit: Stinging Eyes via Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA

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