TômTex Selected among TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024

TômTex has been recognized by TIME magazine as one of the 200 Best Inventions of 2024. Their featured products, Series M and Series WS, stand out for being a 100% biobased and biodegradable alternative to leather and plastics, using chitosan from mushrooms and discarded shrimp shells. 

They're a 100% biobased and biodegradable alternative to the roughly $500 billion leather industry, which drives greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, particularly in South America. BMW and Mercedes-Benz, as well as fashion houses like Comme des Garçons, have already gone in on joint development projects with TomTex. The secret to success in the crowded world of non-petroleum-based leather alternatives? Price parity. The material will be available in 2025 at $2.50 to $3.50 per sq. ft.—about equal to the cost of mid-tier leather made from animals.

TômTex Series M is petrochemical-free, and polyurethane and PVC free, and 100% biobased. For Series M, they source chitosan from mushrooms. Like all of TômTex's material, Series M was created to offer designers a customizable textile that does no harm to the planet.

TômTex Series WS is a revolutionary non-woven biomaterial that is 100% biobased and has complete aesthetic versatility.

The seafood industry produces 6-8 million tons of crustacean shell waste a year, most of which ends up in landfills. TômTex has found a technique to upcycle these shells into a luxury material for fashion, furniture, and more. TômTex gives seafood like shrimp, crabs, and lobster a second life by extracting the chitosan from their shells and using it to create Series WS.