Spiders produce silk fibers with remarkable properties including high tensile strength, elasticity, durability, and softness.
We’ve developed technology to sustainably replicate this amazing process at a large scale.
Microsilk can be produced with less environmental impact than traditional textile manufacturing, with the potential to biodegrade at the end of its useful life.
Spiders produce silk fibers with remarkable properties including high tensile strength, elasticity, durability, and softness.
We’ve developed technology to sustainably replicate this amazing process at a large scale.
Microsilk can be produced with less environmental impact than traditional textile manufacturing, with the potential to biodegrade at the end of its useful life.
Our very first collaboration with designer Stella McCartney, a shift dress made with Microsilk fabric, was unveiled at the New York MoMA in October 2017.
Our very first collaboration with designer Stella McCartney, a shift dress made with Microsilk fabric, was unveiled at the New York MoMA in October 2017.
We teamed up with Best Made Co. to develop a limited edition iconic knit hat made from a blend of rambouillet wool and Microsilk fiber.
We teamed up with Best Made Co. to develop a limited edition iconic knit hat made from a blend of rambouillet wool and Microsilk fiber.
In March 2017, we launched the very first commercially available product made of spider silk. All 50 limited-edition neckties sold out within minutes.
In March 2017, we launched the very first commercially available product made of spider silk. All 50 limited-edition neckties sold out within minutes.
In July 2019, Stella McCartney and adidas unveiled the Biofabric Tennis Dress, created with a Microsilk and cellulose blend fiber and designed to be fully biodegradable.
In July 2019, Stella McCartney and adidas unveiled the Biofabric Tennis Dress, created with a Microsilk and cellulose blend fiber and designed to be fully biodegradable.
No spiders are harmed in the making of Microsilk fiber! In fact, there are no spiders involved in the process. We originally studied real spider silk to understand the relationship between the spider DNA and the characteristics of the fibers they make. Today’s technology allows us to make those proteins without using spiders, which is a big relief to the arachnophobes among our team.
Two reasons: performance and sustainability. We believe that it is possible to get much better performance from textiles and garments. We can imagine textiles that are both softer and longer lasting. We’re also motivated by the fact that the textile industry is among the dirtiest industries on the planet. Many of our team members have been in this industry for a long time and we’re driven to produce fabrics that can meet consumers’ needs while minimizing impacts on the environment.
At Bolt Threads, we believe that living in an increasingly resource-constrained world means we have a responsibility to find more sustainable ways of creating materials. Microsilk is protein-based and therefore has the potential to biodegrade, unlike polyester and other synthetic fibers that are contributing to microfiber pollution.
The main input in our fiber-making process is sugar from plants that are grown, harvested, and replanted. Compare this renewable process to polyesters, which are made from petroleum derivatives. Currently, more than 60% of textiles are made of polyester and other non-renewable, petroleum-derived fibers.
No. Our Microsilk fibers do not contain any genetically modified organisms. The process we use to make our fibers does utilize genetically modified yeast. After fermentation is complete, the silk protein is purified from the yeast, and the remaining yeast cells are destroyed by heat via the same methods used to pasteurize milk. There are no GMO yeast present in the final material. The sugar we use as feedstock is made from corn, and 88% of all corn produced in the US is genetically modified. The technology we’re using is not new; in fact, genetically engineered organisms have been fermented to make recombinant products, insulin, and vaccines for decades, safely.
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