Modern Meadow

Modern Meadow
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded2011
FoundersAndras Forgacs
Gabor Forgacs
Karoly Jakab
Francoise Marga
Headquarters
Nutley, New Jersey
,
U.S.
Key people
Catherine Roggero-Lovis (CEO)[1]
Websitemodernmeadow.com

Modern Meadow is an American biotechnology company that uses biofabrication to create sustainable materials. The company was co-founded by Andras Forgacs, Gabor Forgacs, Karoly Jakab and Francoise Marga in 2011, and is based in Nutley, New Jersey.[2][3]

History

In 2011, Andras Forgacs and his father Gabor Forgacs, Jakab and Marga co-founded Modern Meadow.[2] The company’s initial goal was to create leather and meat in tissue cultures, without the use of live animals.[4]

In 2018, Modern Meadow partnered with Evonik to commercially produce biofabricated materials.[5][3]

Modern Meadow entered into a joint venture in 2021 with Limonta, an Italian textiles and materials company, to create BioFabric. The new company creates sustainable materials through a process called biofabrication.[6]

In 2017, it was announced that Modern Meadow had plans to develop the “world’s first biofabricated leather”. The company displayed a prototype T-shirt made from the material at the Museum of Modern Art in an exhibit, “Items: Is Fashion Modern,” until 2018.[4] In 2022, Catherine Roggero-Lovisi became the company’s CEO.[1]

Technology

The company makes plant-based protein biopolymers to create a variety of textiles. It combines plant-based proteins with bio-based polyurethane. The resulting polymer blend is called Bio-Alloy.[7][8][3]

Bio-Alloy is used to create plant-based leather alternatives including Bio-Tex, which the company developed for the American fashion brand Tory Burch;[9] as well as Bio-VERA, a blend of biomaterial and synthetic polymer substrate[10] made for use in transportation, wall coverings, and interior design.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b Furnas, Dawn (September 7, 2022). "Modern Meadow promotes Roggero-Lovisi to CEO". NJBIZ. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Harvey, Chelsea. "This Brooklyn Startup Wowed The Science Community With Lab-Made 'Meat Chips'". Business Insider. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Lo, Andrea (October 4, 2018). "Would you wear leather that's grown in a lab?". CNN. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Zhang, Sarah (September 21, 2017). "Leather, Grown in a Lab Without Cows". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  5. ^ Bain, Marc. "No animals were involved in producing this premium leather". Quartz. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  6. ^ Carrera, Martino. "Stronger Together: Future of Italy's Textile Supply Chain Sits in Collaboration". WWD. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  7. ^ Waltz, Emily (March 28, 2022). "This Mushroom Leather Is Being Made into Hermès Handbags". Scientific American. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  8. ^ Chan, Emily (October 31, 2020). "Is lab-grown leather the future for the fashion industry?". Vogue India. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  9. ^ Malik Chua, Jasmin (February 28, 2023). "Tory Burch Gives Iconic Bag a Plant-Based Leather Alternative Makeover". Sourcing Journal. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  10. ^ Bettenhausen, Craig (July 6, 2023). "Biotech leather struggles". Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  11. ^ "Modern Meadow's New 'Breakthrough' Sustainable Biomaterial Is Stronger Than Leather". ethos. May 23, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.