Bringing Materials of the Future to Wardrobes Today

Only recently has organic feedstock waste become a fabric source—the science behind the creation of the latter out of the former is bewildering, but also urgently necessary. One company behind the development of technology that converts agricultural waste is an India-based start-up called AltMat.  Deriving its name from its work sourcing from and making Alternative Materials, AltMat is a science and manufacturing research-lab-cum-producer that has managed to transform massive amounts of agriculture waste into natural fibers and yarns.  The company was founded in response to two conundrums. First: excess and mindless wasting of agriculture and biomass. According to AltMat, in most cases, this waste is burnt—which causes more air pollution. And if it’s thrown away, it contributes to greenhouse gases in landfills. Given the recurrence of waste as a physical problem, AltMat sought a better way to deal with it.  Second, AltMat seeks to provide a solution to the fashion industry’s question of how to make great fabrics out of organic materials that may actually help the Earth. Learning that agricultural waste materials could be converted into fibers, then threads, then fabrics, AltMat set out to develop technology and infrastructure that could do just that on an increased scale.  With the motto of “Waste is waste, only till we don’t put it to use,” AltMat now creates what they call “ALT materials” made of the byproducts and leftovers of food crops like hemp seed oil, pineapple, kenaf, nettle, banana, industrial hemp, and other feedstocks into natural bast fibers and yarns. These reusable materials were not traditionally thought of for making fabrics, but AltMat’s offerings are achieving a sought-after balance between performance, sustainability, and even regenerability.  The resulting materials are impressively varied and can be used for a variety of textiles.  Alt Fibres are currently available in the various grades needed for diverse applications such as non-wovens, hygiene products, composites, specialized spinning, and also sustainable paper/paper packaging products suitable for handmade and machine manufacturing.  Alt Yarns—made from blending natural cellulosic Alt Fibers from food crop waste (particularly hemp waste) with any desired materials like cotton, modal, lyocell, recycled polyester etc.—can be used for multiple applications ranging from apparels and accessories to interior textiles and upholstery. Alt Yarns can also be used for carpets. Currently, Alt Yarns are available in a number of blends, and can also be made to order for quantities over three tones. AltMat is also in the process of launching a line of finished fabrics. Seeking to “thread together environmental sustainability, social inclusivity, and performance,” these textiles will be blends with various thread counts and can be made to order for higher MoQs.  The technologies and processes behind the production of these yarns, fibers, and fabrics are also purportedly sustainable. AltMat is conscious of its resource footprint through energy, chemicals, and water—it is committed to using zero hazardous chemicals. Its recycling and production processes are said to use very little water, all of which is treated and most of which gets reused.  AltMat began as mere lab research pertaining to waste materials conversion science and sustainable proprietary technologies, but the company has grown quickly from Pilot Factory to Industrial Scale Production in just three years. In 2020, its infrastructure development succeeded in promising scalable quality production of its ALT materials.  AltMat hopes that its production of new textiles made of renewed natural materials will help the industry to divert its focus from the problem of plastic-based polyester, which is unhealthy for the environment and even for people on many levels. The growing start-up is open to discussing collaborative projects of all kinds with companies who wish to embrace sustainable innovation and communicate their commitment to implementing more environmentally-conscious sourcing into their business model and product offerings.