Innovation : the AirCarbon revolution for a more responsible luxury

Developed by the Californian start-up Newlight Technologies, this new innovation, called AirCarbon, promises to profoundly transform luxury and limit the sector’s carbon footprint.

Newlight Technologies, founded in 2003 and based in Irvine, California, was built on the premise that “what if it were possible to use nature’s technology to turn greenhouse gases into valuable materials ?“. After a decade of research, the startup unveils AirCarbon.

Its goal ? To promote carbon-neutral fashion and make its negative footprint possible. To achieve this, the Californian company decided to use carbon capture technologies by launching a range of luxury accessories guaranteed “carbon negative“. The pieces are made naturally, using greenhouse gases.

The AirCarbon technology uses microorganisms that feed on greenhouse gases. These microorganisms, naturally present in the ocean, transform the greenhouse gas contained in their cells into polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), “manufactured in almost all known life forms on earth“, according to the start-up.

AirCarbon, an all-natural, non-toxic biomaterial, is thus infinitely recyclable, and can be chosen as a sustainable alternative to animal leather and synthetic plastic. Many well-known brands have already partnered with Newlight Technologies, such as Nike, which announced in late August to begin “using AirCarbon in various applications“.

However, Newlight Technologies does not intend to limit itself to partnerships and has already launched its own label, named Covalent. On its online store, the Covalent brand sells high-end items made with AirCarbon technology. Among the pieces offered, we find many accessories such as handbags, small leather goods, and even sunglasses, with a completely negative carbon footprint.

Like Newlight Technologies, the label derived from the start-up advocates total transparency. Therefore, detailed information sheets are available for each product, and reveal the information related to the manufacturing of the item. Regarding the carbon footprint, Covalent also specifies the amount of CO2 diverted from the air.

“When made with renewable energy, the production of AirCarbon is a carbon-negative process, capturing or destroying more CO2 than was emitted in its manufacture,” the company explains on its website.

Taking for example the Poppy tote bag, sold at $480, we discover that 16.7 kilograms of CO2 equivalents have been removed from the air during its manufacturing. With the AirCarbon innovation, Newlight Technologies proves that carbon neutrality is possible in luxury and the start-up allows fashion to renew itself while respecting the demands of its time.

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