New York-based material science innovator Pangaia and Finland’s Infinited Fiber Company are introducing the world’s first commercially available t-shirts made from 100% Infinna fibre created entirely from textile waste.

The two companies have also announced a multi-year sales deal alongside this first release.

Infinna is created from cotton-rich textile waste that is broken down at the molecular level so that the cellulose can be captured and turned into new fibres. Because it’s made of cellulose – a building block of all plants – Infinna is biodegradable and keeps biomass in circulation. The long-term vision for the technology is for clothes made with it to be recycled again in the same process together with other textile waste.

“Pangaia is constantly searching for technologies that can help us utilise waste streams and Infinna reimagines how we can recycle and manage textile waste,” said Craig Smith, Pangaia’s research and development director. “This first capsule collection demonstrates that we can create beautiful products made completely from recycled fibres. We are entering a new era of breakthrough innovations in circularity and this launch opens a doorway to the future of textile recycling.”

“Pangaia is really leading the way in exploring circular materials to replace virgin resources,” said Kirsi Terho, key account director at Infinited. “We couldn’t be happier that its customers will be the first to experience wearing a shirt made 100% out of textile waste that has been cleaned up and broken down at the molecular level to be given a new life.”

The limited-edition products are a t-shirt ($75) and long sleeve t-shirt ($85) in black.

www.infinitedfiber.com

www.pangaia.com