TômTex
id card
Shrimp shell waste & edible additives
composition
Chitin
building blocks
Organic
material origin
Sandwich sheet
shape
6 – demonstrated in relevant environment
TRL
TômTex is created from two key ingredients: seashell waste and mushrooms. TômTex can be recycled by feeding it back into it’s production, if it doesn’t get back it is also 100% natural biodegradable.
Properties
The fabric has a soft touch and is durable.
It is naturally water-resistant & the properties can be anhanced with a coating of beeswax.
Tômtex can replicate any texture surface including animal skin/exotic skin textures, and other design patterns.
Cyclability
TômTex is 100% recyclable and can be fed into its own system.
If TômTex is left on the streets or in the wild it will fully decompose and serve as nutrients for new life.
APPLICATIONS
TômTex biobased material is suitable for use as clothing, footwear, handbags, accessory, furniture, tools, and sports equipment.
FOOTWEAR APPLICATIONS
Upper
Production process
The chitosan is supplied from a company in Vietnam, who gathers waste shrimp, crab and lobster shells as well as fish scales, to extract a biopolymer called chitin from them. This is found in the exoskeleton of insects and crustaceans, rendering them both tough and pliable at the same time.
The chitosan is then combined through a strong crosslinking biopolymer process with waste coffee from Tran's own kitchen and from local cafes, together it forms the basis of Tômtex.
The mixture is dyed using natural pigments such as charcoal, coffee and ochre to create a variety of colour options.
After mixing all the ingredients, the bio-material can be poured into the mould where it is air-dried at room temperature for two days. The process doesn't require heat, therefore it saves more energy and reduces carbon footprint.
Founder Uyen Tran, formerly a fashion designer herself, found that rather than having a sheet with a perfectly smooth surface she would like to see desiners come up with cool textures, finishes and embellishments.
Manufacturing facts
If the curing process takes 2 days, lets say one batch would take a week. After that it depends on the capacity how much and how fast TômTex can be produced.
production time
TômTex has no public data on this. Since they officially started their business in 2020 it is still too early.
the factory
Behind the screen
products
Uyen Tran, Atom Nguyen & Ross McBee
founders
2020
Brooklyn, NY
time & place
Peter Do, Di Petsa
partnerships
