NFW has grown from being known as the innovator behind specific materials – originally and most notably known for MIRUM® leather alternatives and CLARUS® performance yarn/fabrics — into a true platform solution creating biomaterials that support plastic-free design across a wide range of industries—from fashion and footwear to automotive and upholstery.

Formally started in 2015, we are now an organisation of close to 200 team members working with certified partners around the world. One of the things that is truly unique about NFW’s approach is the way our technology embeds into existing supply chains, enabling the world’s most iconic brands to design and scale products with high-performance, plastic-free materials utilising their preferred partners. In a nutshell, NFW helps global brands become sustainable, empowering them to create without plastics. 

Today we are actively commercialising four products while also working confidentially to develop new solutions with other partners in emerging spaces and for novel use cases. The products you can find today include:  

• CLARUS® turns natural fibres into performance fabrics—100% natural textiles with previously-unachievable functionality. 

• MIRUM® is the only high-performance, plastic-free alternative to leather.   

• PLIANT™ outsoles are naturally cured performance rubber outsoles. 

• TUNERA™ is first-in-kind plastic-free foam — the planet-friendly answer to synthetics in the market today. 

The creation of MIRUM® – the world’s first 100% bio-based leather alternative – remains the benchmark for all other materials. Most so-called plant-based leathers are bio content mixed with polyurethane. And the journey for MIRUM is not over. Today we continue to work on new versions of the material capable of meeting the rigorous performance standards required for automobiles.  

There is no scale without impact and no impact without scale. Our list of global partners is growing and we’re especially proud when partners launch multiple products with us over time. Because we’ve been able to regionalize much of the production of our PLIANT™ all-natural outsoles into the existing supply chain in Southeast Asia, bold brands like Aussie-based Bared can scale up use more quickly. At last count, close to 33 styles in their collection are now featuring PLIANT™ all-natural outsoles. 

You can really see the power of our platform when you look at the zero-plastic sneaker (“the Degenerate”) that NFW and Unless Collective (recently acquired by Under Armour) using all four of NFW’s material innovations. The bio-based sneaker can harmlessly decompose at the end of its useful life, and the brands’ collaborative take-back program enables consumers to send their shoes to ground up and returned to the earth. Most recently, Vivobarefoot launched the Gobi sneaker which features 98% all-natural materials with a PLIANT™ outsole, MIRUM(R) trim, and CLARUS(R) upper.  

Collaboration is our super-power. We love to partner with designers and material innovators inside brands and we like to solve the engineering and technical challenges of bringing all-natural materials into the existing supply chain. 

Household brands like Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren have using MIRUM® and CLARUS® technologies in their products. But we’re equally excited every time another less well-known partner brings a new product to market. At last count, NFW is partnering with 97 consumer brands across fashion, footwear, accessories, upholstery, and automotive. And the proof is that real consumers can shop for real finished goods in the marketplace. Check it out on the shop page of our site.