Squitex, TreeKind and the Microfiber Innovation Challenge Finalists

Philadelphia-based Squitex draws inspiration from the same source it seeks to protect: the ocean, or more specifically, synthetically designed proteins mimicking those found in squid tentacles. COURTESY SQUITEX

A suite of material innovators are challenging the microfiber conundrum in a challenge billed as trying to “halt microfiber pollution.”

Conservation X Labs, a technology and innovation hub based in Washington, D.C., is awarding $650,000 in prizes as part of its Microfiber Innovation Challenge, partly funded by the Flotilla Foundation, a charity centered on marine pollution, and The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, which funds a range of charitable activities.

“From our perspective designing and running the Microfiber Innovation Challenge, we think there is great potential for biomaterials to play a role in reducing the shedding of plastic or long-lasting microfibers,” Barbara Martinez, open innovation director at CXL, told WWD. “However, biomaterials are not the only types of solutions that came through the Microfiber Innovation Challenge, and we recognize that there is not one single, silver bullet solution that will address the shedding of microfibers.”