The Bezos Earth Fund has announced $34m (£27m) in grants for sustainable fabric development.
Materials and manufacturing account for roughly 80% of the fashion industry’s environmental footprint. The funding targets bio-based alternatives to conventional fabrics such as cotton, silk and rayon.
Columbia University and the Fashion Institute of Technology receive $11.5m (£9.1m) for the largest grant.
The funding will develop biodegradable textile fibres produced from bacteria fed on agricultural waste. Fibres are designed to be strong, flexible and breathable while avoiding microplastic pollution.
The University of California, Berkeley, receives $10m (£7.9m) to develop fibres inspired by spider silk. Clemson University is awarded $11m (£8.7m) to create gene-edited cotton with built-in colour and greater resilience.
The Cotton Foundation receives $1.5m (£1.2m) to restore a publicly accessible, non-GMO cotton seedbank.
Lauren Sánchez Bezos, Vice Chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, said: “These teams are growing fibre from bacteria and creating silk-like fibres from compost. That’s not just good for the planet. That’s the future of fashion.”
Dr Chad Brewer, Executive Director of the Cotton Foundation, said the investment came at a critical moment.
He added it would help protect one of agriculture’s most valuable genetic resources. Strengthening cotton genetics would support safer, scalable alternatives to synthetic materials.
The Bezos Earth Fund was founded in 2020 with a $10bn (£7.9bn) commitment from Amazon boss Jeff Bezos. It has provided more than 230 grants, allocating approximately $2bn (£1.6bn) to date.
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