Why aren’t we using bio engineered spider silk?
- rowan hunt
- Mar 14
- 5 min read
The replication of spider silk is not a new concept but is also not that old compared to other man-made fibres such as viscose and polyester.
So why don’t we see it in the market now as a good responsible fibre that can play a part in a more sustainable future?
After all, it's made with natural renewable ingredients that will also biodegrade once finished and can outperform other man-made fibres.
Looking back at the history of real spider silk, it is thought that the ancient Greek and Roman soldiers used spider webs to cover their wounds. Not only would it help hold the wound together but it was thought to have antiseptic properties.
It was also suggested by the Greek philosopher Democritus “that humans learned to weave by watching spiders”[1] the web-like structures gave us the idea of running interlacing thread to create something more solid with coverage.
“In six century the Chinese Buddhist Chih-i wrote a system of sign interpretation signalling that the invention of the fishing net was due to our understanding of a spiders web, as the sign for catching things.”[2]
The first attempt to harvest spider silk is thought to have been over 300 years ago.
In November 1709, Francois-Xavier Bon went all in on his research in France and made a pair of spider silk stockings which were presented to Duchess of Bourgogne, the fashionable wife of King Louis XIV’s grandson.
Then in 1898 a famous bed hanging was made from 100% spider silk.
Apparently it took 70 people 4 years to collect enough spiders from telephone poles in Madagascar to produce this amazing 11 foot by 4 foot textile hanging.
There are 45,000 species of spiders which have been studied for silk since the 1960s. It was only in the 1990s that the genetic code sequence was found while studying the Golden Orb spider. This spider alone can produce 7 different varieties of silk including strong structural silk for webs, attachment silk which acts like cement, sticky silk for the inside of the web, prey wrapping silk and a tough silk for the outside of egg sacks.
With all this in mind, why have we traditionally used silk from worms rather than spiders?
Looking at the Bombyx Mori Silkworm, their cocoons consist of a single continuous thread of up to 1500 meters long. It is thought that approximately 12 spiders are needed to produce the same quantity of silk as a single cocoon of the Bombyx Mori Silkworm.
Although sadly, as we know, a silk cocoon needs to be intact to have this long strand and once the moth breaks through the continuous yarn is no more. So historically the chrysalis is boiled, killing the worm before it develops into the moth, softening the glue and allowing the silk to be taken off in one continuous strand.
Another reason that silkworms are favoured over spiders was simply that, left alone, spiders would kill each other until only the largest was left! Unlike silkworms who seem to live in harmony with each other, eating leaves before making their cocoons.
For these reasons it was worked out that spider silk was 24 times more expensive than that of silkworms.
Coming back to today, Rowan Hooper recently wrote a great article for New Scientist (18th January 2025, p.22) . He looked at what 2029 could be like with a large-scale adoption of spider silk referencing companies like Spiber and Bolt Threads. He talks about how the new kids want spider inspired fabrics that have the performance of spider silk, ie. bullet proof and stronger than steel.
So how does it work?
The company Bolt Threads studied the silk proteins spun by a spider to understand what gives it such incredible properties. They went on to develop a bio-engineered silk with the same DNA as a spider's silk and produced large quantities through a fermentation process using yeast, sugar and water.
After purifying the silk protein it is ready to spin into fibres with a similar process to rayon and viscose. Which is in a form of dope like a thick soup that has something resembling a shower head (but very fine) to extrude the yarns out of.
This fabric was made famous by Stella McCartney’s MOMA dress in October 2017, the very first collaboration using this bio-engineered silk.
The company, founded back in 2009, created 100% man-made spider silk. Dan Widmaier the founder, was so excited by his findings that he sent a tie, his very first product, to Stan Lee himself. Stan Lee being the creator of Spiderman!
He cold-called him and to his amazement Stan was very interested, and they hit it off whilst discussing this technology.
To quote Dan, "We can make fashion sustainable, and we're going to do it with science."[3] . This approach is even more relevant now than it was back then.
Another company doing similar research and development around similar time was Spiber which was established in 2007. Spiber was formed by two Japanese researchers Kazuhide Sekiyama and Junichi Sugahara who had been investigating methods for producing spider web fibres through the fermentation process since 2004 in a university lab.
Today they produce Brewed Protein fibres which are used in collaborations with many brands including The North Face, Sacai, Pangaia, Woolrich, Ron Herman, and Goldwin.
Coming back full circle to today and the options we have to make spider silk clothing for the masses, I guess we need to assess a few things.
Cost, Availability and whether the market is ready for it.
Anything new is nearly always more expensive as you must factor in the R&D cost and the fact that scale is not yet achieved, and true efficiency is not yet known.
This is what got me thinking. I've seen and heard all about spider silk but was puzzled as to why we can't buy it. I have seen denim mills use actual spider webs in denim for marketing, but nothing comes of it. Collaborations have been done for small drops but have not been seen in bigger ranges or with the larger retailers.
This is where I think there needs to be a shift in how people’s jobs work to bring these developments to market.
They stem from a science background and are developed by scientists. Whereas garments are generally designed from a style and fabric point of view by designers. These two worlds are so very far apart and the language they speak is very different.
From my experience, coming from a design background, working with scientists is a whole new experience. They develop a theory and product that can then be tested in a lab and under microscopes. In contrast, denim as an example is designed as a garment that needs to look a certain way. Wear patterns on the thigh, whisker marks, small rips and high contrast areas at the top of the jeans. It is a full sample approximately 140cm long and 60cm wide, has a front and a back and is washed and processed. It is very three dimensional.
So how does a lab tumbler scale with 10cm x 4cm strips of fabric compare to a washer that can take 300 garments in one go?
I believe we need more people crossing over in roles.
Denim designers need to be mini scientists and scientists need to have an idea on how their developments could be taken to market.
Then perhaps true collaborations might bring us into the future.
Referencing
Golden spider silk - by Simon peers, published by V&A publishing in 2012.
New Scientist - 18th January 2025
The Future of Fashion – Made from Mushrooms – Dan Widmaier – TED - July 27, 2022
[1] Golden spider silk - by Simon peers, published by V&A publishing in 2012.
[2] Golden spider silk - by Simon peers, published by V&A publishing in 2012.
[3] The Future of Fashion – Made from Mushrooms – Dan Widmaier – TED - July 27, 2022
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