The North Face has developed and announced the Moon Parka, which is their first jacket that does not depend on petroleum to be made. Instead, the jacket is constructed from proteins created through a microbial fermentation process. To do this an interesting process is required. North Face teamed up with Spiber and Goldwin to develop this jacket using synthetic spider silk.
“The piece is an exciting foray into new areas of innovation for The North Face, bringing fresh ideas into the market and capturing the imagination of people around the globe,” Joe Vernachio, vice president of global product for The North Face, tells SI.com.
Spider silk has the potential to be used for everything from parachute cords to artificial blood vessels. Farming spiders for their silk would be a very inefficient process though. Spiber has developed the idea of synthetic spider silk. The process of creating this remarkable material is described in the following video:
The North Face is taking advantage of this environmental friendly process to produce the Moon Parka. Spider silk is as strong as steel, lighter than carbon fiber, and tougher than Kevlar. The gold hue of the new Moon Parka was designed to represent the natural web color of the golden orb spider.
This creation is a major tech step in replacing petroleum-based products with protein-based products commercially. This jacket technology shows that innovators in every market can start thinking of innovative, sustainable technology.
Most sports apparel is made from polyester, nylon, and other synthetic polymer materials. Protein-based, renewable fibers are much more sustainable. But North Face is demonstrating a new approach that is more eco-friendly.
The Moon Parka will be available to market “as soon as possible” and the price is not yet known.