Blog

Ralph Lauren invests to enable product development with plant-based upcycling materials and to create and scale a new industry standard for recycling natural fibers

Ralph Lauren Group announced a minority stake in Natural Fiber Welding, Inc. (NFW), a leading sustainable materials science startup that has revolutionized the reuse of natural fibers – like cotton waste – into patented, high-performance materials. As part of the investment, Ralph Lauren will help scale NFW's patented process and create unique performance apparel made from natural, sustainable materials.

"We have grown and developed our business for more than 50 years because we constantly strive to be open and different about how to approach challenges," said David Lauren, vice chairman and chief innovation officer, Ralph Lauren.

“Today, sustainability is an area where this is particularly important. Investing in partners to scale innovative solutions is an essential part of our sustainability strategy. We are excited to support the work of NFW, a pioneer in this field. Not only can your technology drive our work at Ralph Lauren, but it can also create positive change across the industry. "

Recycled cotton is often unsuitable for use in new cotton clothing because of the short fibers that result from recycling. Founded in 2015, NFW has solved this challenge with an innovative process that welds short fibers into longer fibers to produce high-performance cotton yarns that may contain cotton and other vegetable waste fibers.

This patented process transforms these materials in ways that were not possible before, and offers the opportunity to reuse cotton waste after it has been consumed and to give the fiber performance characteristics. The resulting upcycling material outperforms synthetic fabrics while maintaining the comfortable feel of cotton.

"We are very excited about the investment, support and insight from Ralph Lauren, an industry icon whose commitment to timelessness – to real sustainability – is central to her," said Dr. Luke Haverhals, Founder and CEO of NFW. "We look forward to working together to scale our industry-leading technology, which has the potential to transform the way companies approach fabric and procurement."

Through this investment, Ralph Lauren aims to expand the use of post-consumer recycled cotton, thereby helping to advance the company's strides in sourcing 100 percent of its key materials, including cotton, by 2025 and bringing zero waste into its business to integrate.

Over time, the partnership will allow Ralph Lauren to replace and decrease its reliance on non-biodegradable plastics like polyester and nylon while scaling up the use of more sustainable and upcycled materials.