If you look close, you'll find an Illinois startup's tech built into Team USA's Olympic closing ceremony uniforms.
Last week Ralph Lauren unveiled its Team USA closing ceremony parade uniforms in advance of this summer's Olympic Games, and on the back of the athletes' denim pants features a "USA" patch made from Illinois startup Natural Fiber Welding.
The patch is made from NFW's plant-based leather product, called Mirum, which uses hemp, waste cork, coconut and other products to mimic the look and feel of real leather. Last year Ralph Lauren invested in NFW to help the fashion giant create clothing from natural and sustainable materials.
Founded in 2015 in downstate Peoria, NFW is a materials science company that makes apparel, handbags and other goods out of natural materials. The company also makes a product called Clarus, which takes recycled cotton and turns it into new high-performance materials. Earlier this month, the startup opened a new 110,000-square-foot manufacturing space in downtown Peoria, where it makes products for clothes, shoes, furniture and automobiles.
NFW's plant-based leather is part of Ralph Lauren's push to include more sustainable materials on its Team USA collection. The company worked with Dow on an advanced pre-treatment solution for more sustainable cotton dyeing that reduces the amount of water and chemicals used to dye clothes. The uniform's striped belt is made from Repreve, which makes recycled polyester derived from plastic water bottles.
Ralph Lauren isn't the only high-profile fashion retailer to partner with NFW. Earlier this year shoe brand Allbirds invested $2 million in NFW to bring the startup's plant-based leather into its products.
