189. Infinite Threads: Recycling Athleisure Waste with Samsara’s Vanessa Vongsouthi

Vanessa Vongsouthi, Research Founder and Head of Bioengineering at Samsara Eco, joins host Erum on the Grow Everything Podcast to discuss how engineered enzymes and AI are making it possible to recycle textiles and plastics repeatedly. Vanessa explains how Samsara uses AI-assisted protein design and ancestral sequence reconstruction to create enzymes that break down complex polymers, including Nylon 6,6, into their original chemical building blocks. Those materials can then be returned to existing supply chains and used to create virgin-equivalent products that are indistinguishable from materials made from petrochemicals. She also shares the story behind the world’s first enzymatically recycled Nylon 6,6 jacket, created in partnership with Lululemon, and explores how Samsara Eco was built through Main Sequence Ventures’ orchestration model alongside partners such as Woolworths and the Australian National University. The conversation also looks at what a future built around distributed, local recycling infrastructure could mean for designers, manufacturers, consumers, and the global circular economy.

Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and interview the leaders and innovators changing the world through biology. Biology is the world’s oldest technology, and it can be engineered. So, what are we growing?

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.messaginglab.com/groweverything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) - Intro: Heat waves, climate impacts, and the bioeconomy
• (00:03:00) - Would Big Tech buy a pharmaceutical company?
• (00:08:00) - Brewed human collagen: Gelatech x Hugel partnership
• (00:10:00) - France bans fast fashion: Shein, Temu, and the Atacama Desert
• (00:13:00) - Introducing Vanessa Vongsouthi of Samsara Eco
• (00:17:00) - Biology as future industrial infrastructure
• (00:22:00) - Programming enzymes with AI and ancestral sequence reconstruction
• (00:29:00) - The Lululemon jacket: proof that enzymatic recycling scales
• (00:35:00) - Distributed recycling and a circular material economy
• (00:42:00) - Post-interview debrief and key takeaways

Links and Resources:

• Forbes - Vanessa Vongsouthi
• Samsara Eco
• Samsara Eco - LinkedIn
• How Samsara Eco made a jacket with Lululemon from enzymatically recycled polyester
• lululemon and Samsara Eco Announce 10-Year Plan to Advance Recycled Material Portfolio
• The world has an anchovy problem
• AI Age Anthropic launches AI drug discovery program, joining tech giants in betting on healthcare
• FDA to fast-track food as medicine
• Jellatech Partners with South Korea’s Hugel to Bring Cell-Cultured Human Collagen to Market
• French parliament passes fast fashion bill targeting Shein and Temu
• 149. Beyond Capital: Phil Morle of Main Sequence Ventures on Collaboration as the New Competitive Edge
• 45. Insuring Your Lunch: Aanika’s Vishaal Bhuyan Cracks the Microbial Code of Food Security
• 122. Ecohacking the Planet: Daniel Goodwin of Homeworld Collective Brews Up Planetary-Scale Solutions
• 175. Seaweed Is the New Oil: Mari Granström Builds Origin by Ocean
• Grow Everything LinkedIn
• BioInnovations Events - For 25% off use code: Grow Everything

Topics Covered:

enzymatic recycling, nylon 66 recycling, textile waste, circular economy, bioengineering, protein engineering, infinite recycling, sustainable fashion, Lululemon recycled jacket, plastic recycling technology

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Music by: Nihilore 

Production by: Amplafy Media