Activated Silk technology has a small but growing commercial presence. It is featured in Gentrue sportswear brand products to eliminate the need for petroleum-based finishing chemicals, and is being used by leather and textile suppliers to replace a variety of harmful substances, from PFAS in the production of leather to polyurethane in fabrics.
Evolved By Nature lost some of its momentum during the pandemic, when a number of developing partnerships or investment talks were frozen, but is now regaining its footing as industries from medicine to beauty face increasing pressure. higher to phase out fossil fuels. and offer cleaner ingredients and products. A new funding round helps, with a $120 million Series C announced in June and led by Teachers’ Venture Growth, and the company is using the renewed momentum to expand its reach not just in fashion but into other industries as well. including beauty, with the same goal in each of eliminating the use of petroleum-based chemicals that are often dangerous to both people’s health and the environment.
That’s a message likely to resonate, in part because environmental sustainability is increasingly important to skincare and beauty consumers, Generation Z in particular, says Larissa Jensen, a beauty industry adviser at market research firm NPD Group. “Any brand that continues to innovate and find new ways to bring effective products to the consumer is putting itself in a position to win,” she says, although she is also clear that that is no guarantee, and that brand and name recognition matter too. “The market is extremely saturated and there is more to a brand’s success than the ingredient.”
The flood of products labeled “clean” is responsible for much of that market crowding, as well as people losing faith in the term itself, the more broadly and indiscriminately it is used. However, as consumers become more demanding, opportunities could open up for brands to raise the bar on what clean beauty can and should mean. Many brands have focused on changing packaging, making it reusable or recyclable, but the ingredients need innovation. Evolved By Nature’s goal is to eliminate the need for chemicals derived from fossil fuels, which have climate implications, and are dangerous to the health of consumers and workers. And, the beauty market has a history of welcoming shiny new hero ingredients with open arms.
Source: news.google.com