Fashion / news
Everbloom's renoa becomes first new fiber class in 25 years after FTC approval
Startup Everbloom has developed renoa, a washable textile made from waste protein that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has recognized as the first new fiber classification in a quarter century. The material is pitched as a more affordable route to the cashmere feel.
Renoa is built from waste protein streams rather than virgin fleece. Everbloom collects cashmere and wool scraps along with down and feather "lint" left over from bedding manufacturing, then breaks that material down into a powder.
The powder is combined with a biodegradable biopolymer, and the resulting blend is extruded to a controlled length and diameter so it can imitate a chosen natural fiber. The startup says the finished textile is washable and is intended to be more affordable than the animal fibers it mimics.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which governs fiber labeling in the United States, recently granted renoa its own fiber classification — the first new category of its kind in 25 years, according to the company. That approval gives the material a formal labeling identity in the U.S. market.
Renoa arrives as cashmere has pushed into nearly every tier of apparel. Offerings now run from a $7,900 cable-knit cardigan at Brunello Cucinelli to a $50 crewneck at Quince, and Loro Piana has made the fiber a cornerstone of its line, helping lift the LVMH division's valuation above €11 billion. Even cashmere running shirts exist.
The material's limits have kept it from spreading further: it remains relatively expensive, is difficult to care for and carries environmental baggage, with the goats that produce it degrading rangelands across Central Asia. Everbloom's approach is aimed at delivering a comparable hand-feel through waste-derived inputs instead.