Shoe brand Allbirds is investing in an Illinois materials startup to bring plant-based leather to its popular footwear line.
Allbirds announced it has invested $2 million in Natural Fiber Welding, a materials startup in downstate Peoria.
NFW makes a plant-based leather product, called Mirum, that uses hemp, waste cork, coconut and vegetable oil to create a product that performs like conventional leather but without any of the plastic resins, glues or coatings relied on by other plant-based leather alternatives.
The investment will allow Allbirds to bring NFW's Mirum technology into its products and create more sustainable shoes with fewer carbon emissions.
"For too long, fashion companies have relied on dirty synthetics and unsustainable leather, prioritizing speed and cost over the environment,” Joey Zwillinger, co-founder and co-CEO of Allbirds, said in a statement. “Natural Fiber Welding is creating scalable, sustainable antidotes to leather, and doing so with the potential for a game-changing 98% reduction in carbon emissions."
Founded in 2015, NFW also makes a product called Clarus, which takes recycled cotton and turns it into new high-performance materials. Last year it received an investment from Ralph Lauren, which plans to use NFW's technology to create clothing from natural, sustainable materials.
The Allbirds deal now shines an even brighter spotlight on the Peoria startup as it lands another well-known fashion customer. Earlier this month NFW opened a new 110,000-square-foot manufacturing space in downtown Peoria, where it makes products for clothes, shoes, furniture and automobiles.
NFW was one of Chicago Inno's 21 startups to watch in 2021.
