Stella McCartney’s Parka From Plastic-Eating Enzymes Makes Debut

Americans overestimate the amount of plastic reused and recycled each year, according to a study conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of Protein Evolution (PEI).

More than four in five Americans believe they’re relatively knowledgeable about reducing plastic waste in their daily lives, but the survey unearthed a telling blind spot. Nearly seven in 10 Americans (69 percent) don’t know crude oil is used to make clothing textiles.

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Adding fuel to the fire, PEI estimates that less than 1 percent of discarded textiles are recycled. A whopping 98 percent of surveyed participants drastically overestimated that figure. Not to mention, 30 percent of respondents believe at least half (or more) of the 34 billion pounds of annually discarded textiles are recycled.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, though: 76 percent deem it vital for companies to increase the number of recycled materials used in their material matrix, with 86 percent believing that clothing made from recycled fibers is just as—if not more—durable than virgin options.

With this in mind, Stella McCartney released a parka made from rigid packaging waste and industrial textile strappings previously used to secure freight containers, made possible thanks to biological recycling, a process in which enzymes break down plastic waste.

Debuted in Dubai at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (a.k.a, COP28), the parka was made in partnership with PEI’s Biopure technology. The biological recycling company that wants to decarbonize plastic production said its seminal technology yields polyester “indistinguishable” from its virgin, petroleum-based counterpart.

“Anybody who knows me knows that I hate waste, which is why I am so thrilled about my collaboration with Protein Evolution,” Stella McCartney said. “Through my SOS fund, we were among the first to invest in their pioneering biological recycling technology; one that has the potential and power to transform the world’s plastic waste into infinitely recyclable polyester.”

Using natural science and artificial intelligence (AI), Biopure develops enzymes that break down polyester waste to be recycled economically and sustainably. When the enzymes are combined with the plastic, they break it down into “building blocks.” They are then turned into chips to be spun into yarn and woven into fabric by PEI’s customers to create good-as-new textiles with a 70 percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to petroleum-based polyester. In this case, partners in the European Union (EU) spun the polyester into yarn that was then woven into new fabric by Stella McCartney’s team to be used in the coat’s design.

“Today marks a pivotal moment in the move toward textile-to-textile circularity in the fashion industry,” Connor Lynn, co-founder and chief business officer of Protein Evolution, said. “Not only is this jacket validation for the utility and quality of biorecycled polyester—specifically polyester chips created using Biopure—it also offers companies an alternative to the landfill or incinerator for their fabrics, extending the life of their materials indefinitely.”

The parka has likely been in the works for the past year, considering the British luxury house partnered with the Fashion for Good-backed startup last year with the goal of pioneering a new type of polyester made from old materials. Around that same time, Stella McCartney and Collaborative Fund’s climate venture capital fund, Collab SOS, led PEI’s $20 million funding round, as well.

“We’re excited for the world to learn about a company we’ve believed in and backed from Day One. Protein Evolution’s breakthrough technology delivers a cost-effective, high-quality way to combat plastic waste and create a truly circular product, not only in fashion but across industries,” Sophie Bakalar, a partner at Collaborative Fund, said. “It’s remarkable what the company has achieved in less than a year of this collaboration with our partner Stella McCartney. It really demonstrates Protein Evolution’s laser focus on creating solutions that can be used today—not decades in the future—to have the biggest impact at the fastest pace possible.”

Over the last year, Protein Evolution has taken unused fabrics from Stella McCartney’s past collections to test and prove their textile-to-textile recycling process, according to the brand.

That R&D collaboration “allowed my atelier to design and create the beautiful, airy parachute parkas made from biologically recycled polyester that you can see today at our Sustainable Market at COP28,” McCartney said.

And the parka, displayed through Dec. 12 at the conference, was “incredibly well received,” Lynn said, “for both its style and innovation.”

“Our parka is the world’s first garment produced by way of biological recycling,” he continued. “We’re proud to partner with Stella McCartney as she highlights the importance of new, sustainable materials and processes for the fashion industry, especially during COP28 when the world’s eyes are turned to climate change discussions.”

North Carolina’s Keel Labs also joined Stella McCartney’s Sustainable Market last week as one of its 15 material-focused innovators. The group showcased its flagship product, Kelsun, which is made from more than 75 percent seaweed biopolymer as a replacement for fossil-fuel based fibers. Seaweed is one of the most abundant and effective carbon-capturing organisms in the world, and plants grow up to 18 inches each day. Its regenerative nature lends itself to scalability, making it a potential alternative to conventional natural fibers like cotton. What’s more, third-party testing has shown Kelsun-based fabrics to be highly compostable, degrading in about 60 days under the right conditions.

“It’s our mission to transform the textile industry and the world by harnessing the radical potential of our oceans, and we can’t do it alone,” Keel Labs co-founder and CEO Tessa Callaghan said. “Bringing about change requires not only the development of biomaterials, but also policy, government support, and direct action from global brands to bring them to scale.”

Callaghan said the six-year-old startup was “thrilled to join Stella McCartney at COP28 and promote the necessary innovations that are needed to revolutionize the world of fashion,” and hoped the expo would help propel the adoption of next-generation materials. Kelsun’s potential applications span apparel, home furnishings, interior and automotive, she added.

McCartney sang the fiber’s praises, noting that it requires 70 times less water than conventional cotton, and completely nixes the need for pesticides as it “uses the ocean’s resources to protect it.”