Greg Altman calls his company, Evolved By Nature, a “green chemical company,” because it’s using biotechnology to unlock one of nature’s most elegant chemistries – natural silk.
Remember that we have the silk worm to thank for silk.
“The silk worm has basically a hypodermic needle at the end of a gland and it literally expresses silk and water solution through that needle,” said Altman, co-founder and CEO. “Proteins form fiber in a cocoon, and it’s that cocoon that led to the first manufacturing of silk fabric.”
Altman explained that silk worms eat mulberry leaves, which garner energy from the sun. He describes silk as crop that doesn’t require pesticides or petrochemical fertilizers.
“When we look at silk, we see feedstock for material innovation independent of petroleum,” Altman said.
Everything petroleum-based products can do, silk can do better, according to Altman.
“One of the most fascinating things about silk that people don’t really connect is that silk is literally nature’s form of plastic,” Altman said. “Nature already figured out how to do it.”
Together with his co-founder, Rebecca Lacouture, Altman discovered a way to extract silk proteins in liquid form. Altman and Lacouture have PhDs in biotechnology engineering and biomedical engineering, respectively.
“What we didn’t fully understand is we weren’t just creating silk in liquid form, we were creating a foundation for an entire chemical platform with all sorts of amazing properties that can replace chemistry in all sorts of consumer goods,” Altman said.
Founded in 2013, Evolved By Nature was able to patent its silk-related process within nine months. Since then, the company has received seven more patents covering approximately 75 different silk chemistries, according to Altman.
In keeping with their green approach to business, Altman says the partners import “cruelty free, ethical” silk cocoons from China and Japan as the raw material for their manufacturing plant just outside of Boston.
Evolved By Nature is using its activated silk as an ingredient in skin care products. In June of this year, Chanel took a minority stake in the company for an undisclosed sum. Last fall, in an investment round led by Jeff Vinik, former manager of Fidelity's Magellan Fund, Evolved By Nature raised $30 million from investors that included the Kraft Group and Roy P. Disney.
Altman said Evolved By Nature has also been well-received by the clothing industry.
“Most people are unaware of the use of finishing chemistry in textiles,” Altman said. “It’s a $30 billion a year industry.”
And an industry dominated by petroleum-based products, which Altman and others see as a problem for the environment.
“Those chemicals get washed down the drain and into the water we drink,” he said.
Altman and Lacouture are using their liquid, activated silk to put finishes like waterproofing on textiles, providing an alternative to petrochemicals. Another example: It takes two silk cocoons, about the size of the tip of your thumb, to coat a pair of yoga pants with moisture management properties.
The company’s activated silk can also improve the wicking abilities of a garment, and fight odor.
Altman said he couldn’t disclose whom he is talking to in the clothing world, but he gives credit to brands like Patagonia for “bringing visibility to the challenges not only that the fashion industry has created, but wants to solve.”
Evolved By Nature can be a big part of that solution, Altman and Lacouture believe.
