NZ pure-bred wool has found a new lease of life, from Allbirds using Merino for its sustainable sneakers to Lanaco using Astino fibres for N95-grade facemasks and fire-proof filters commissioned by Nasa for its new round of moon missions.
Now Woolchemy, which styles itself as a material technologycompany, wants to do the same for much cheaper cross-bred or “strong” wool - currently a struggling sector.
The Upper Hutt startup has developed two wool-based products, which it aims to sell to manufacturers - “neweFlex”, described as a moisture distribution layer in single-use items such as disposable nappies and menstrual products, and “neweZorb”, a “durable, superabsorbent” material for reusable hygiene products, nappies, nursing pads, bed pads, pet pads and wound-care products.
Woolchemy could potentially process up to 26,000 tonnes of strong wool per year within half a decade. Photo / Supplied
Woolchemy’s products are positioned as more eco-friendly than synthetics, and up to 25 times as absorbent as untreated wool. The output is still 100 per cent wool, the firm says, but with “a molecular structure altered to be moisture-loving”. neweZorb wool absorbs from 1500 – 2500 per cent of its weight in moisture, compared to 30 per cent for conventional wool, the startup claims.
Co-founder and chief executive Derelee Potroz-Smith - who comes from a sheep farming family - says Woolchemy has just closed a $1.5m seed round, which she hopes will see neweFlex and neweZorb through to their first commercial sales by the end of this year.
Woolchemy says it will add value to cross-bred wool. Photo / File
The founder says at least three potential buyers are lined up. One of them is a multinational, the others are smaller outfits.
Woolchemy’s central pitch is that its natural fibre-based materials are better for the planet than the synthetics that currently dominate nappies and menstrual products.
Synthetic textiles, such as polypropylene, polyethylene and polyester - used for both disposable and reusable textile items - are largely derived from fossil fuels, such as petroleum, Potroz-Smith says.
But the founder adds that many manufacturers don’t realise cross-bred wood is price-competitive with synthetics - and that with the current supply chain issues amid the pandemic and war, natural fibres can even be cheaper.
Woolchemy was awarded an $80,000 Government grant in 2020 as Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor released a plan for sustainable and profitable growth for the strong wool sector, which was topped up to $200,000 by matching industry funding. The startup also landed Callaghan Innovation backing.
Another $424,000 in grants followed in May last year (167,000 from MPI and $254,000 from the industry) to scale up consumer trials and assess commercial viability.
Now the startup has raised $1.5m in a seed round led by Even Capital, co-founded by Sarah Park and Anna Stuck, which bills itself as “New Zealand’s only female founded, funded and focused high growth venture capital fund”. The round was supported by deep tech specialist Pacific Channel, Vow Foundation, Booster, Opepe Farm Trust, and Tupu Angitu (a subsidiary set up to diversify the Lake Taupō Forest Trust
“Woolchemy holds enormous potential to not just innovate, but to redefine the personal hygiene category at a global level, and alongside the all-female team, that really motivated us to lead this investment round,” Even Capital’s Park says.
Woolchemy's re-usable "neweZorb".
“Not only is the scale of the opportunity for the technology impressive, but the solution will enhance the economic return for Kiwi wool farmers and strengthen the profitability and viability of the sheep farming industry, one of our nation’s primary exports, well into the future.”
Synthetics are currently used in some $165 billion worth of hygiene products where natural wool fibre could be used as an alternative.
Potroz-Smith sees the wind at her back as her firm goes after this huge addressable market.
“Consumer and legislative pressures only continue to grow and hygiene product manufacturers are actively looking for ways to solve the plastic, waste and pollution problems associated with their current products,” she says.
The Government is also chipping in modest amounts to educate consumers on the benefits of shifting from synthetic to natural fibre based products.
In June last year, O’Connor announced “Wool Impact”, a three-year project to help grow export revenue for wool. The initiative was backed by $4.5m from MPI’s Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund, plus $6.9m from the wool sector.
“Wool Impact is charged with making it a compelling and affordable alternative to synthetic fibres, and reversing the significant under-investment of the past three decades. This has resulted in poor returns for growers and others across the supply chain. Urgent action is needed.”
Potroz-Smith says Woolchemy could potentially process up to 26,000 tonnes of strong wool per year within half a decade and, all going to plan, ultimately more than 100,000 tonnes - or around two-thirds of NZ’s production. That would be the proverbial game-changer, she says.
