A Bristol company that has developed technology to help textile manufacturers reduce pollution has launched a major new project in the US.
Cleantech firm Matter has partnered with Paradise Textiles – a producer for brands including Calvin Klein and North Face – on the initiative to cut microbfibre pollution at manufacturing sites.
The Bristol company has created a filter that stops microfibres from textile production from entering waterways during the manufacturing process. The innovation will be installed at Paradise Textiles’ fabric mill in Egypt.
The two companies say the solution could reduce microfibre pollution across all 150,000 global textile factories. The project is expected to save millions of KWh of electricity and reduce carbon emissions by more than 2000 tonnes a year, per manufacturing site.
Adam Root, founder and chief executive of Matter, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Paradise Textiles on this ground-breaking project. It will show the fashion industry that a viable solution to this colossal problem of microplastic pollution is within reach. As this technology scales, there will be no reason and no excuse for letting microfibre pollution continue.”
Lewis Shuler, head of innovation at Paradise Textiles – part of the Alpine Group – said: “At Paradise we are committed to collaborating with industry innovators and brands to make a material difference for the future of the fashion and textile industry.
“Matter’s Microfibre filter presents us with an effective way to reduce the environmental impact of the textile and apparel manufacturing process, whilst also reducing operational costs, which is a real game-changer for the industry.”
Matter raised $10m in its Series A funding round in 2023, and is backed by investors including S2G Ventures, SOUNDwaves and Regeneration.VC – the climate tech fund backed by Leonardo DiCaprio.
The firm has also developed technology to stop microplastic pollution being released by domestic laundry appliances into waterways.
The company made its US debut in January at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, one of the world’s largest technology conferences.