Pangaia has announced that they recently partnered with Infinited Fiber for a multi-year agreement in order to scale the Infinna material technology, which turns post-consumer waste into textiles.
Pangaia operates a B2B platform –Pangaia Science– which helps to scale the technologies that come from labs that other brands aren’t used to. “Pangaia Lab is a springboard for the most innovative technologies by reducing barriers between laboratories and consumers. This capsule is our third collection created with an innovative outside company. We’ve already seen an incredible response to the first two collections, with multiple products selling out,” said Dr. Amanda Parkes, Pangaia’s chief innovation officer.
Infinite Fiber, on the other hand, has focused on research into material regeneration, and low and behold, they developed Infinna, a regenerated textile fiber. According to the brand, it’s meant to be “soft, with the natural look and feel of cotton,” and its creation was centered on the research of cellulose fiber contained in most cotton-rich garments. In an article by Glossy, writer Zofia Zwieglinska states that “Kirsi Terho, Infinited Fiber Company’s key account director, elaborated on the process. She said that all discarded textiles are first sorted, and the hard parts like zippers and buttons are removed. The remaining fabric is shredded and then pre-treated to remove things like polyester, dyes and textile treatment chemicals, while also capturing the cellulose in the cotton for further processing. Cellulose forms the basic building block of all plants, and cotton is one of the most cellulose-rich plants on the planet. The next stage, called carbamation, turns the cellulose into a dissolvable powder, which is then turned into a honey-like liquid and wet-spun into brand-new fibers. Finally, the fibers are cut, dried and baled, and can be turned into yarn.”
The first product to come out of the partnership will be a collection of long and short-sleeve T-shirts made from 100% Infinna. Pangaia will also be promoting the integration of Infinna into its already existing products. Later, the fiber will come from its commercial-scale factory, which is set to be up and running in 2024.
