Clothing made from CO2 could be the answer to one of the world’s most polluting industries. Between 2000 and 2015, global clothing production more than doubled, driven by the rise of fast fashion, which means disposable fashion at low prices. Faced with this reality, a San Francisco startup called Rubi Laboratories has developed a radically different approach. Instead of reducing production, they aim to transform the problem into a solution by using CO2 as a raw material.
Clothing made from CO2 produced by Rubi is based on a principle inspired by nature. The consulting firm McKinsey estimates that the fashion industry accounts for up to 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it one of the most polluting sectors in the world. In trees, photosynthesis captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and slowly converts it into cellulose, the raw material for textile fibers such as viscose, lyocell, or Tencel. Rubi replicates this mechanism at high speed in bio-reactors the size of shipping containers, using enzymes to accelerate chemical reactions.
The process starts by injecting captured CO2 into an aqueous solution filled with enzymes. Within minutes, white cellulose appears inside the reactor. This cellulose can then be transformed into pulp and spun into textile fiber using the same industrial equipment as conventional viscose or lyocell production. In other words, existing textile factories do not need to reinvent themselves to incorporate this new material.
Rubi has also optimized its enzymes using artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance their performance and reduce costs. The goal is to achieve price parity with conventional textiles from the first large-scale demonstration plant.
The Rubi technology has attracted the attention of major players in the textile industry. According to TechCrunch, the startup has secured pilot partnerships with 15 brands, including H&M, Walmart, Patagonia, and Reformation. Financially, Rubi has recently raised $7.5 million from investors such as H&M Group, AP Ventures, and Talis Capital. The company has also secured over $60 million in non-binding purchase agreements with several partners.
Rubi has expanded its ambitions beyond textiles, exploring applications in other industrial sectors that use cellulose, such as packaging or aerospace, which could significantly broaden its potential market.
However, the success of CO2 clothing still needs to prove its scalability. The sustainable fashion industry has seen promising companies that did not survive the challenges of industrial production. Rubi is aware of this and has built its technology to be cost-effective and modular from the start. Their bio-reactors operate as independent deployable units where CO2 is available, reducing the need for heavy infrastructure. Clothing made from CO2 not only promises cleaner fashion but also offers a different, decentralized, and adaptable industrial model whose credibility will be tested in the coming years by the production chains of the world’s largest retailers.
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