- Posted on 25 May 2026
- 2-minute read
These prototypes represent a major milestone towards replacing harmful synthetic yarns by using a feedstock of agricultural by-products from plants such as corn or sugar cane in clothing supply chains.
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and noéma, a material innovation startup, announce the successful development of noéma’s first prototype garments made entirely from its novel biobased, fully compostable yarn.
Working with UTS’s Advanced Fabrication Research Lab (AFRL) and the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion + Textiles (CoE) the project leveraged UTS’s state‑of‑the‑art 3D knitting Shima Seiki wholegarment technology and thought leadership. They enabled noéma to transform its novel biobased yarn into wearable seamless garments employing an advanced manufacturing method that aligns with the company’s "zero-waste" philosophy by eliminating the off-cut waste inherent in traditional cut-and-sew manufacturing.
It is like watching firsthand the fashion of the future being developed, knowing it is better for people and planet.
“After years of research, seeing our yarn come to life as ready-to-wear, seamless clothes in collaboration with UTS is an enormous milestone,” says Sandra Vassilopoulou, Founder and CEO of noéma. “I’m deeply grateful to the UTS AFRL and CoE teams for their technical expertise, innovative thinking, collaboration, and commitment to solving the world’s greatest challenges. Working alongside a highly professional team that shares our vision for circular design & having access to their world‑class knitting equipment has accelerated our learning curve on material performance and fit and allowed for rapid progress.”
CoE Director, Dr. Lisa Lake says working in partnership with industry innovators like noéma allows UTS to take technological and problem-solving expertise into real-world settings that enable powerful change.
“It has been exciting to test how the noéma yarn works in an advanced industrial-knit machine, it is like watching firsthand the fashion of the future being developed, knowing it is better for people and planet,” she said.
This breakthrough comes at a critical moment for the industry. Fashion generates over 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually, with the vast majority being fossil-fuel based and ending up in landfills. By combining compostable yarns with seamless, nearly zero-waste production, the two partners advance a circular model for fashion that considers material, manufacturing and end-of-life as a single system, with clothes returning back to earth as nutrients at the end of their lifecycle.
Next steps for the partners include testing new designs, refining knitting structures and scaling production for trials with end users from noéma’s priority waitlist, positioning themselves at the forefront of circular textiles and waste‑free manufacturing.
About Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion & Textiles (CoE)
The CoE is a partnership between UTS and TAFE NSW with a remit to transition the Australian fashion industry towards a sustainable future through education, research and thought-leadership. Alumni from its industry short courses work in brands, retailers, production studios and small businesses around Australia. UTS leads the research efforts of the CoE and is located in the heart of Sydney’s innovation precinct.
About noéma
noéma is a material innovation company reimagining textiles for a circular future. The company designs and develops compostable clothes from novel biobased yarns using renewable feedstocks & agricultural by-products. These are designed to safely return to earth at the end of their lifecycle successfully replacing synthetic fibres & eliminating textile waste. noéma partners with academic and industry leaders to validate scalable, low‑impact pathways for the Fashion industry creating high-performance apparel solutions that are safe for People and the Planet.
website: noema888.com