Applied Series: It is Possible to Turn Waste into Fabric with AltMat's Shikha Shah

Why Agricultural Waste?
Shikha Shah, with her rare blend of scientific expertise and compassionate leadership, tells us her transition from consultancy to building biorefineries to turn plant waste into textiles usable for the fashion and beyond. Coming to the realisation that if there's enough food in the world, then there's also enough waste in the world that can be reusable in some way. For Shikha after several years of research cracked the scientific formula that enables plant matter to be broken down and then transformed into fibre like structures.

Biorefineries, Material Innovations, and Patience
However, science is not enough and it's about understanding the perseverance, patience, and funding required to navigate the complex fashion supply chain and material innovation landscape. Deploying biorefineries takes time and a lot of money. The keyword here is patience, and Shikha pulls apart what fashion brands must be doing in order to support material innovators in the longer term. Beyond commercial issues, Shikha is integrating integrating kindness into the core of business, a principle that she believes is especially transformative for fashion tech entrepreneurship.

Shikha and AltMat are featured in chapter 3 of the book Fashion Tech Applied. Check it out.

Connect with Shikha on LinkedIn.
Check out AltMat.

*EXCLUSIVE OFFER* -20% discount for podcast listeners on the printed or ebook of Fashion Tech Applied. Purchase your copy at Springer here using the discount code*: 08cWPRlx1J7prE

*Offer ends end June 2024

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The show is recorded from Beyond Form, a fashion tech innovation platform. We build, invest, and educate fashion tech entrepreneurs and startups. We’d love to hear your feedback, so let us know if you’d like to hear a certain topic. Email us at podcast@beyondform.io. If you’re an entrepreneur or fashion tech startup looking for studio support, check out our website: beyondform.io