Stella McCartney has unveiled a parka made of biorecycled polyester at COP28. The garment and the technology behind it is a result of a partnership between Protein Evolution and McCartney.
The fashion parka is made from rigid packaging waste and industrial textile strappings – formerly used to secure international freight containers – processed using Protein Evolution’s Biopure technology. It offers an alternative to landfill or incinerator for waste. Working with partners in the EU, the polyester was spun into yarn and woven into new fabric to be used in the design of the coat.
Protein Evolution’s Biopure technology uses AI-designed enzymes to break down polyester waste into the raw materials of new polyester that are indistinguishable to the petroleum-derived raw materials used in polyester manufacturing today. Once these raw materials are re-integrated into the manufacturing process, the result is an infinitely recyclable polyester with a meaningfully lower carbon footprint than polyester produced from petroleum. Biopure is capable of handling a variety of waste streams, from plastic bottles and clam-shells, to industrial textiles and garments.
Protein Evolution is a biological recycling company working to decarbonize plastic production. McCartney is an investor and brand partner. Over the last year, Protein Evolution has taken unused fabrics from McCartney’s past collections to test and prove their textile-to-textile circular process.
