Stella McCartney, Marzotto Wool Manufacturing Srl, Fashion for Good, and 13 new companies and organizations have joined the BioCircular Materials Alliance (the “Alliance”), led by biomaterials pioneer Spiber.The Alliance published its first Progress Report, highlighting ongoing research and development efforts to build circular infrastructure utilizing nature-driven materials and agricultural waste.The Alliance published the first version of its Materials BioCircularity Database and has made significant progress toward developing its Product Design Guidelines for fashion industry players to integrate biocircularity principles into their design processes.The official BioCircular Materials Alliance website has been launched.
TSURUOKA, Japan, Jan. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The BioCircular Materials Alliance (the “Alliance”, previously known as the “Biosphere Circulation Project”), conceived by Spiber Inc. and powered by a growing coalition of industry leaders, is excited to welcome new members, including Stella McCartney, Marzotto Wool Manufacturing Srl, and Fashion for Good, while continuing its collaboration with founding members such as Kering and Goldwin (see Appendix for full list).
The Alliance was founded to harness the transformative power of biology to accelerate the global transition toward a circular future. By bringing together leading brands, manufacturers, and innovators, the Alliance seeks to enable regeneration of bio-based waste—from textiles, agriculture, and forestry—into valuable products such as protein materials through Metabolic Recycling* and other advanced processes.
“Seeing such a diverse group of organizations align and collaborate toward a shared goal is truly inspiring. What began as a vision has grown into a dynamic, collaborative effort with strong momentum for real, societal-level change to create a circular future.” – Kenji Higashi, Spiber Inc. Executive Vice President of Sustainability and Director of the Alliance Steward Team
“Stella McCartney is proud to partner with the BioCircular Materials Alliance, driving the industry towards a circular future. The accomplishments highlighted in the Alliance’s first Progress Report demonstrate significant progress in creating a regenerative bioeconomy, showcasing the power of collaboration and innovation in achieving societal-level change. We look forward to working with this groundbreaking initiative.” – Stella McCartney brand
The Alliance is proud to announce the release of its first ever Progress Report, which highlights key milestones achieved in 2024. This includes the collaborative development of an Action Plan, which sets the stage to drive the industry toward a circular bioeconomy—where bio-based waste is transformed into new, regenerative materials—through shared knowledge, actionable data, and industry-wide collaboration.
The Progress Report also highlights the creation of the first version of the Materials BioCircularity Database and the progress made in developing the Alliance’s Product Design Guidelines. These tools will serve as comprehensive resources explaining how various combinations of materials and chemical treatments impact the compatibility of resulting products with the biocircular recycling systems.
The Materials BioCircularity Database is an emerging tool designed to help industry players make informed choices about the selection of fibers, dyes, and chemicals used in their products to optimize them for biocircularity. While still in its early stages, initial datasets have been compiled and the Database is set to evolve into a critical resource for guiding more sustainable product design. The Product Design Guidelines will serve to help industry players understand how material and chemical combinations affect compatibility with biocircular recycling systems. Insights from the growing Database will inform these guidelines, and the Alliance is planning to have an initial draft completed in 2026.
“Fashion for Good is pleased to be collaborating with Spiber and the other BioCircular Materials Alliance Members such as Kering; a founding Alliance Member and a Fashion for Good partner. Finding solutions for different waste feedstocks that currently have no pathways i.e: recycling is vital to help solve the textile waste crisis. We look forward to contributing our expertise on topics such as the Materials Circularity Database that could help steer the industry towards making better design choices to enable bio-circularity.” – Maria Arroyo I Bacete, Fashion for Good Innovation Manager
In tandem with the Progress Report, the Alliance is proud to launch its official website, https://biocircularmaterials.org. The website will serve as a central hub for updates on the Alliance’s activities, providing access to resources like the Progress Report, the Materials BioCircularity Database, and the Product Design Guidelines, as well as information on membership opportunities.
The BioCircular Materials Alliance continues to champion innovation, foster collaboration, and pave the way for a regenerative future in textiles. We urge brands, manufacturers, industry organizations, and policymakers to join us in building a biocircular future.
*Metabolic Recycling
Metabolic Recycling Is the Conversion of Biobased Waste into Nutrients, Such As Sugars and Amino Acids, Which Are Then Used in Microbial Fermentation to Create New Materials. This Process Unlocks the Potential of Biobased Waste, Offering a Scalable and Practical Solution for a Circular Bioeconomy. by Enabling the Use of Low-quality Waste Across Multiple Rounds of Recycling Without Compromising the Performance of the Resulting Materials, It Provides a Groundbreaking Approach to Fiber-to-fiber Recycling.
The BioCircular Materials Alliance
Formalized in 2024, the BioCircular Materials Alliance (the “Alliance”) was created to harness the power of biology to drive our society towards a more circular reality. Its vision is a future where biobased components of waste—from, for example, the textile, agriculture, and forestry industries—are transformed into biological nutrients and regenerated into new chemicals and materials through microbial fermentation.
For more information, visit https://biocircularmaterials.org
Spiber Inc.
Established in 2007, Spiber is a biotech venture company based in Yamagata, Japan. Dedicated to creating innovative solutions that contribute to sustainable wellbeing, Spiber has developed a new material solution inspired by nature’s diversity and circularity: the “Brewed Protein™” material platform. By harnessing the power of precision fermentation, Spiber engineers proteins at the molecular level, resulting in versatile materials that can be tailored to specific needs. This innovative solution opens up new possibilities for sustainable and high-performance materials in various industries, including apparel, food, automotives, and more. Alongside our partners, Spiber is constantly exploring diverse new applications for Brewed Protein™ materials in order to help pave the way for a brighter future. Our passion lies in fostering a circular economy, minimizing our environmental impact, and working together to build a world that is inclusive, fair, and regenerative.
For more information, visit https://spiber.inc/en/
Appendix: Alliance Members
22 Alliance Members as of January 21st, 2025.
This list does not include anonymous companies that are silent contributors to the Alliance.
1. Albini Group
2. Archroma
3. Armedangels
4. DyStar
5. EILEEN FISHER
6. Fashion for Good
7. Goldwin Inc.
8. Gruppo Florence
9. Kering
10. Marzotto Wool Manufacturing Srl
11. Marimekko
12. Pangaia
13. RDD Textiles
14. Stella McCartney
15. Spiber Inc.
16. UNITED ARROWS LTD.
17. Vollebak
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SOURCE Spiber Inc.
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