Here’s what ‘renoa’ — the first new fiber in 25 years — feels like

Sometimes it seems like everyone — and every occasion — demands cashmere these days. Numerous brands sell cashmere sweaters, from Bruno Cucinelli’s $7,900 cable knit cardigan to Quince’s $50 crewneck. Menswear company Loro Piana has made cashmere a cornerstone of its lineup, helping to drive the LVMH division’s valuation above €11 billion. There are even cashmere running shirts. But as cashmere has spread throughout the fashion industry, it’s not for everyone. It’s still relatively expensive, hard to care for, and environmental fraught. The goats that produce cashmere have been trashing rangelands across Central Asia. That may change, though. I recently experienced an alternative fiber called renoa, developed by a startup called Everbloom, that’s washable and promises to be more affordable. It could bring the cashmere experience, via a substitute material, to more products and people.

如今，似乎每个人、每个场合都对羊绒有着需求。从布鲁诺·库奇内利（Bruno Cucinelli）售价 7900 美元的麻花针织开衫，到昆斯（Quince）售价 50 美元的圆领衫，众多品牌都在销售羊绒衫。男装公司诺悠翩雅（Loro Piana）已将羊绒作为其产品系列的核心，助力该 LVMH 旗下部门的估值超过 110 亿欧元。市面上甚至出现了羊绒跑步衫。然而，随着羊绒在时尚界的普及，它并不适合所有人。它依然相对昂贵，难以打理，且存在环境问题。生产羊绒的山羊一直在破坏中亚地区的牧场。不过，这种情况可能会有所改变。我最近体验了一种名为“renoa”的替代纤维，它由一家名为 Everbloom 的初创公司开发，不仅可水洗，而且有望更加实惠。它或许能通过替代材料，将羊绒般的体验带给更多的产品和人群。

Everbloom has made a number of sample items using renoa, including this glove and scarf. The scarf has been washed and dried in a tumble dryer. Image Credits: Tim De Chant/TechCrunch. Renoa is made from sources of waste protein, including cashmere and wool scraps as well as down and feather “lint” leftover from the bedding industry. Everbloom processes the waste into a powder and blends it with a biodegradable biopolymer, and the combination is then extruded to the right length and diameter to mimic specific natural fibers. Renoa was recently approved as the first new fiber classification in 25 years by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which regulates fiber labeling in the U.S. Everbloom has been developing the new fiber for three years, and is currently in the process of scaling up. The startup developed its own AI model for material science, and a cashmere substitute is the first product.

Everbloom 使用 renoa 制作了多款样品，包括这副手套和围巾。这条围巾经过了洗涤和滚筒烘干。图片来源：Tim De Chant/TechCrunch。Renoa 由废弃蛋白质来源制成，包括羊绒和羊毛边角料，以及床上用品行业剩余的羽绒和羽毛“绒毛”。Everbloom 将这些废料加工成粉末，并将其与可生物降解的生物聚合物混合，随后通过挤压工艺制成特定长度和直径的纤维，以模仿特定的天然纤维。Renoa 最近被美国联邦贸易委员会（负责美国纤维标签监管）批准为 25 年来首个新的纤维分类。Everbloom 研发这种新纤维已有三年，目前正处于扩大规模的过程中。这家初创公司开发了专有的材料科学人工智能模型，而羊绒替代品是其首款产品。

Last month, I stopped by Everbloom’s headquarters in New York City, which sits 15 floors above 5th Avenue, kitty corner from Bryant Park. There, co-founder and CEO Sim Gulati walked me through a range of products made with its company’s cashmere-like renoa, including a crewneck sweater, a pair of knit gloves, and a scarf. The sweater and gloves were soft and light, but the scarf was the most notable. It didn’t look like much, but it had been through the kind of hell and back that a pure cashmere scarf wouldn’t survive. It was a custom item that Everbloom had knit to test renoa, and Gulati had been wearing and washing it for months, including a trip through the tumble dryer before I saw it. It wasn’t pilled, and Gulati said it hadn’t shrunk, either.

上个月，我造访了位于纽约市的 Everbloom 总部，它坐落在第五大道上方 15 层，与布莱恩特公园隔街相望。在那里，联合创始人兼首席执行官 Sim Gulati 向我展示了该公司用类羊绒 renoa 制作的一系列产品，包括一件圆领毛衣、一副针织手套和一条围巾。毛衣和手套柔软轻盈，但最引人注目的是那条围巾。它看起来平平无奇，却经历过纯羊绒围巾无法承受的“地狱般”考验。这是 Everbloom 为测试 renoa 而定制的针织品，Gulati 已经佩戴并洗涤了数月，在我见到它之前，它还经过了滚筒烘干机的处理。它没有起球，Gulati 说它也没有缩水。

Waste feathers (left) are ground into a powder (second from left) and combined with a biopolymer to make pellets ready for an extruder (second from right). Image Credits: Tim De Chant/TechCrunch. Everbloom is currently working with a range of companies to get renoa into consumer products. The first are likely to feature renoa as a blended fiber, making up around 20% of the material in a cashmere sweater, for example. The first product is expected to hit the market in the second quarter of 2027, Gulati said. The 80/20 cashmere-renoa blend that I felt was extremely close to the real thing, and Gulati said that additional finishing that accompanies commercial garments should eliminate any differences without compromising the washability and stability of the garment. After my visit, I kept thinking about various items in my closet that could benefit from those features. When renoa lands on shelves next year, I’ll be keeping an eye out for it.

废弃羽毛（左）被研磨成粉末（左二），并与生物聚合物结合制成可供挤出机使用的颗粒（右二）。图片来源：Tim De Chant/TechCrunch。Everbloom 目前正与多家公司合作，将 renoa 应用于消费品中。首批产品可能会将 renoa 作为混纺纤维，例如在羊绒衫中占比约 20%。Gulati 表示，首款产品预计将于 2027 年第二季度上市。我所感受到的 80/20 羊绒-renoa 混纺面料与真品极其相似，Gulati 表示，商业服装所采用的额外后整理工艺应能消除任何差异，且不会影响服装的可洗性和稳定性。访问结束后，我一直在想衣柜里有哪些物品可以从这些特性中受益。当 renoa 明年上架时，我会密切关注。