High-performance outdoor clothing could soon be made from seaweed through a partnership between Australian materials startup Uluu and Norwegian outdoor brand Norrøna.
The collaboration will see next-generation textiles that combine the performance of synthetic fibres with the environmental benefits of seaweed and natural materials.
Unlike polyester and nylon, which are made from fossil fuels and shed persistent microplastics, Uluu’s materials are made with carbon-sequestering seaweed and biodegrade naturally.
The companies will use these novel materials to prototype waterproof and windproof apparel, aiming to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and persistent plastic pollution.
Uluu has already melt-spun its seaweed material into different types of yarn and fabric using established manufacturing processes, opening a pathway to replacing conventional synthetic fibres.
Norrøna has been at the forefront of outdoor innovation for decades, developing Europe’s first GORE-TEX jacket prototype in 1977 under third-generation CEO Ole Jørgen Jørgensen.
Nearly 50 years later, under his son and fourth-generation CEO Jørgen Jørgensen, Norrona is investing in the next generation of outdoor textiles through a funded joint development agreement with Uluu.
Uluu co-founder and co-CEO Michael Kingsbury said the two companies shared a belief that people should be able to enjoy the ocean and outdoors without harming them.
“The outdoor industry has relied on fossil fuel-derived materials for more than half a century,” he said.
“We’re working with Norrøna to prove the next generation of performance textiles can come from the ocean instead. It’s a powerful signal about where the industry is heading.”
Jørgen Jørgensen said Norrøna was built on the vision “welcome to nature”.
“If we’re going to have a future, we have to be part of fixing it,” he said. “This partnership is developing polyester and nylon-like materials that are biodegradable.
“If we can make it happen, it’s going to be the biggest gamechanger within materials in the world.”
Uluu co-founder and co-CEO Dr Julia Reisser said the partnership could challenge long-held assumptions about the materials needed to make high-performance outdoor apparel.
“For decades we’ve accepted that technical performance required non-biodegradable textiles made from fossil fuels,” she said. “We’re showing that might no longer be true.”
As part of the collaboration, Uluu is also investigating whether its materials could be produced using kelp farmed in Norway, one of Europe’s leading seaweed-producing countries.
Demonstrating the feasibility of using European seaweed could open opportunities across the fashion, beauty and automotive industries.
“We’re excited to work with Norrøna to demonstrate the potential for a new materials economy, decoupled from fossil fuels and persistent plastic pollution,” Dr Reisser said
“The opportunity for carbon-negative outcomes and circular end-of-life pathways is particularly exciting.”
