The study credits AMSilk’s fabrication process, which biosynthesizes silk-based protein polymers without the resource-intensive rearing of silkworms. Credit: Shutterstock

The “Cradle-to-Gate” study, conducted by sustainability consultancy Quantis, compared the environmental footprint of AMSilk Ultrafine bio-fibre with mulberry silk across five environmental indicators – climate change, land and water use, acidification and freshwater eutrophication – which are said to be the “most relevant” to the textile industry and represent the top five of all 16 Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) indicators.

The relative impact of 1 kg of AMSilk Ultrafine vs. Mulberry silk was significant, with AMSilk Ultrafine having:

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

  • 81% lower climate change impact
  • 90% lower acidification
  • 73% lower eutrophication of freshwater
  • 92% lower land use
  • 97% lower water use

The study credits AMSilk’s fabrication process, which biosynthesizes silk-based protein polymers without the resource-intensive rearing of silkworms, as the key driver behind the environmentally reduced impacts. This avoids the deforestation, land use change, and other environmental tolls of mulberry silk production.

Separately, testing by the Fresenius Institute showed AMSilk’s textiles are also readily biodegradable per OECD standards, with over 60% degradation in just eight days, ahead of the benchmark of 10 days and 84% within 28 days, while still being fully durable for normal consumer use.

“These strong figures reinforce the environmental performance characteristics of our material in addition to their various high-performance properties,” commented Ulrich Scherbel, CEO of AMSilk. “Our bio-fabricated fibres and yarns remove the limitations of existing materials and offer brands unimagined opportunities to reinvent themselves while reducing their carbon footprint.”

See Also:

In March, AMSilk registered a patent with biological solutions company Brain Biotech AG after optimising a natural structural protein for performance materials.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.