The world might utter a collective, bored sigh at the announcement of yet
another polo shirt. But what about one made from zero virgin polyester,
plastics, synthetic dyes or petrochemicals?
HyperNatural is a Wisconsin-based startup
producing a new breed of polo shirts made from natural and recycled materials.
HyperNatural’s unique fabric is crafted from organic cotton, recycled yarn
scraps, mother of pearl buttons, and waste crab
shells
and jade stone — resulting in a garment that’s soft, cool to the touch, sweat-
and odor-absorbing, and 95 percent biodegradable.
Co-founder Chris Kolbe told
Sustainable Brands® he envisioned a superior-quality product that also
happens to be sustainable.
“A lot of sustainable products focus on marketing and what stories to tell; but
the product too often is not awesome or differentiated from what’s in the market
today,” he said.
A new era of luxury
Transforming fashion through materials innovation
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HyperNatural is a part of a growing movement of brands aiming to redefine
luxury
through a sustainability lens — ushering in a paradigm shift from
scarcity-as-status to function-and-virtue-as-status. As Kolbe pointed out,
luxury pulls the market with it — the high end can cascade throughout the market
to affect a broader consumer base. And though sustainability isn’t
HyperNatural’s main value proposition, the company unashamedly exists to promote
natural materials over the current reigning champ of textiles: Polyester.
The startup flipped the typical “design-first” approach in the garment industry
and started from the material up — developing a yarn blend of waste materials
including jade stone, chitin derived from crab shells, and scrap cotton from
mill floors. Aside from the environmental benefits of utilizing waste material,
HyperNatural’s Franken-fiber has key performance benefits: Jade stone helps
regulate skin
temperature; and
chitin,
a natural biopolymer, has promise in reducing body
odor. HyperNatural
blended this reclaimed yarn with just over 50 percent US-grown
Supima cotton, which is considered one of the world’s
premier
cottons.
To make waves in the market, Kolbe said, a product must be awesome first and
virtuous second. This guerilla sustainability tactic uses our innate human
desire for status as a vehicle for sneaking sustainability into the mainstream.
“If we’re going to make something sustainable, it has to be an awesome product
first,” he said. “We want people to wear the product regardless of its
sustainability … What drives consumption and brand loyalty is a combination of
product and brand; so, if you make a really great product that also has a
virtuous benefit or brand connection, then you have a real competitive advantage
in the market.”
HyperNatural’s irreverent brand voice is also a twist; Kolbe says irreverence
humanizes things and is an underutilized tool in both the luxury and
sustainability space for capturing hearts and minds.
“We think nature is f*cking awesome,” Kolbe said. “That is luxury. Nature feels
good — whether it’s on your body or you’re in it.”
Image credit: HyperNatural
The problem with poly
Polyester is the most widely used clothing
fiber
in the world. The polyester boom is a direct result of the fast-fashion
movement, Kolbe said. A fossil-based textile, polyester is linked to a host of
problems, from oil
extraction to production to health effects in use to end of life. And while
game-changing advancements are emerging in recycling
polyester
and even creating the fabric from captured
carbon,
in the end the story is the same: Polyester takes decades to
decompose.);
and as 85
percent
of all garments end up in landfills (almost six percent of all municipal waste
each year), we’re still clogging our natural world with plastic pollution.
“In the end, we’re trying to eliminate polyester from being a real option in
apparel,” Kolbe said. “Nature is the way to do it — nature is our hero.”
HyperNatural has gotten comfy with a few realities:
-
People value quality over virtue.
-
Widespread adoption comes when something becomes fashionable.
-
With most clothes ending up in landfill,
biodegradability
must be incorporated into product design.
Another reality is that HyperNatural polos aren’t recyclable (spoiler alert:
Most clothes
aren’t,
because end of life isn’t considered in most garment design) and they do contain
five percent recycled spandex. But,
Kolbe says, they’re not letting perfection be the enemy of progress.
“You’ve got to work toward lowest impact versus perfection,” he said.
“Biodegradability should be the first goal [over recyclability]; because [being
landfilled] is likely the outcome.”
Currently, 95 percent of HyperNatural material is biodegradable in a home
compost bin; and the brand is working toward 100 percent natural and
regenerative materials within the next two years. The remaining five percent not
readily broken down in the environment is recycled spandex, which the company
plans to supplant with bio-based spandex soon.
Alternative materials and traceability: Uncharted waters
Another thing Kolbe acknowledges is that life cycle analyses and traceability
programs don’t yet exist for chitin and jade. HyperNatural wants to use its
influence to demand transparency from its alternative fiber suppliers — but for
now, building a better shirt is the key mission; and lacking that transparency
for some of its key materials isn't getting in the way of a launch.
“When you’re starting something really new, like we’re doing, a lot of these
things take a little bit of time — because you have to invest money to get a lot
of these certifications,” Kolbe said. “We’re in pretty new territory here, so we
need to find the right ways to validate it.”
HyperNatural has already earned dozens of international certifications for
responsible sourcing and production, including OEKO-TEX
100 certification and
bluesign®-approved dyes.
“We’re working really hard on the source level to reduce the need for synthetic,
petrochemical materials,” Kolbe said. “That’s our main goal. That’s how we can
have the biggest impact on carbon and end of life.”
Replacing its recycled spandex with a bio-based alternative will eliminate the
most carbon-intensive component of HyperNatural’s material. It will also work
closely with cotton farmers to use regenerative farming
techniques,
which sequester carbon and enhance soil health.
“Ten years from now, people will see polyester in the same way they see
petroleum today,” Kolbe said. “The way to replace polyester in the market is to
give people the idea that nature can have performance, too. Changing the
paradigm to natural performance is better or comparable — I think that’s a big
opportunity with the consumer.”
HyperNatural will debut in finer men’s retail stores in Spring 2023.
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Christian is a writer, photographer, filmmaker, and outdoor junkie obsessed with the intersectionality between people and planet. He partners with brands and organizations with social and environmental impact at their core, assisting them in telling stories that change the world.
Published Nov 10, 2022 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET