Major Fashion Brands Team Up With Vegan Startup To Replace Animal-Based Leather

Biotechnology startup Bolt Threads has partnered with fashion giants Stella McCartney, Adidas, Lululemon and luxury fashion group Kering which develops products for Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen among others. 

Bolt Threads will give the brands exclusive access to its vegan leather alternative called Mylo. 

The partnership aims to change the fashion industry forever.

The innovative material is made from a fast-growing mushroom root system known as mycelium. The first mushroom leather products will be launch in 2021. 

Bolt Threads CEO Dan Widmaier said: “We are thrilled to be working with partners who recognize that we are in a race to develop sustainable solutions to conventional technologies.”

“They are joining forces, and investing in a solution that can scale: Mylo. The consortium unites four iconic and forward-thinking companies—Adidas, Kering, Lululemon, and Stella McCartney—who collectively represent hundreds of millions of square feet of potential demand for Mylo. Most importantly, this is an ongoing commitment to develop materials and products for a more sustainable future.”

Mylo is cruelty-free and, more sustainable and environmentally friendly compared to animal-derived leather. The product comes with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, lowered water and land use.

Commenting on the partnership, James Carnes, Vice President of Global Brand Strategy at Adidas, said: “For too long the industry standard has categorized materials as either natural or highly functional—but not both. The way to remedy this is to innovate responsibly with solutions that challenge the status quo, and products that use the best of what nature has spent millions of years perfecting—like Mylo—are critical to that,“We hope this inspires others to join forces, as a more sustainable future is something that no brand can create alone.”

Stella McCartney has already worked with Bolt Threads to use their animal-free yeast-based silk in her collections.

“Many people associate leather with luxury, but since the beginning I always wanted to approach things in a different way because killing animals for the sake of fashion is quite simply not acceptable,” she said. “Working so closely with Bolt Threads since 2017 has been a career-changing experience and I cannot wait to launch Mylo products to market in 2021.”