At TômTex, we are working to challenge the status quo of our petroleum defined textile industry by introducing novel materials that engage circularity in a genuine way. We are working at the intersection of design, chemistry, and biology to create a material that is as luxurious as it is regenerative.
TômTex’s cornerstone ingredient is chitosan, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth. And, for TômTex series WS, our source of chitosan is shell seafood waste.
Worldwide, around 10 million tons of seafood is wasted every year. Currently, countries make minimal effort to give that food waste new life; instead, food waste usually ends up in landfills, packed too tightly to degrade.
TômTex looked to its Vietnamese roots and realized that seafood waste is a high potential waste source. Vietnam has a deep relationship with the ocean and marine life, sustaining the Vietnamese people for millennia. This means that seafood waste will continue to be produced. TômTex gives this food waste new life by extracting chitosan to use in TômTex Series WS.
TômTex also believes deeply in transparency across our supply chain. We work closely with chitosan producers in Vietnam, not only observing their processes, but following the food waste all the way up the chain to when the shrimp are first farmed. Looking towards the future, TômTex is committed to working with our suppliers not only to create TômTex materials but to support their own development for a more circular supply chain.
TômTex debuted at New York Fashion Week through runway collaborations with Peter Do and Di Petsa where TômTex Series WS was shown on two looks. These looks offered the look and feel of leather while being constructed of shell seafood waste. Peter Do, Di Petsa, and TômTex were responding to decades of material innovation that has centered on petrochemicals to instead focus on materials that cause less harm to humans and to the planet.
