Natural Chemistry Evolved By Nature

Innovation in textile finishing, including DWR's is also on the agenda of Evolved By Nature, formerly known as Silk, Inc., a company based near Boston and founded in 2013 by Dr. Greg Altman and Dr. Rebecca Lacouture. Having developed cosmetics (Silk Therapeutics), the company is now looking to harness silk's properties for textile applications under a platform it is calling Activated Silk?. "Almost all fabrics are coated in some form of chemistry, be it wrinkle-resistant cotton, anti-odor polyester or enhanced wicking for polyamide. Some of those chemicals are very persistent and don't belong on fabrics worn next to the skin," Dr. Altman Says.

Evolved By Nature has developed a process that extracts the precursor to silk protein by dissolving silkworm cocoons in water and salt, a technology protected by some 75 patents it says. Cocoons unsuitable for the silk fabric industry can be used and the larva can be left alive as well, giving it an eco- and animal-friendly edge.

"The beauty of our technology is that we can use silk to make materials wick water or repel stains," says Dr. Altman. Activated Silk is designed to be a drop-in technology; it does not need a binder as this property is said to be built into the silk protein. "As silk is a natural polymer, the silk proteins seek to bind to everything they find," he says.

Production has already been scaled up and applications on polyamide, polyester and wool fabrics validated (as well as leather). On these materials, "silk forms a film and washing actually pushes the silk into the textile surface," says Dr. Altman. The first product to come to market will be athleisure leggings made softer by the Activated Silk Finish.

Next up for the company is to make its technology compatible with cotton and to develop a DWR finish. "A portion of the silk protein is hydrophobic and preliminary data indicates that it could be an alternative solution to fluorocarbon chemistry," he says.