Rootfull wins UK Innovate research grant
Rootfull has been selected for the UK Innovate Creative Catalyst program!
What will the project deliver? 🚀
Rootfull is at the very forefront of a movement adopting next-gen materials that are, animal-free, nature-centric and key to shifting the world away from relying on unsustainable material supplies and practices. This investment will enable Rootfull to access unique expertise and facilities to reach new applications for root-textile.
Root-textile as an exciting solution for creatives across disciplines - from fashion and architecture to interior design and craft. With its unique aesthetic, root can be grown in diverse patterns and thicknesses to form versatile, mouldable materials. It readily absorbs natural dyes, allowing for an array of colours and surfaces.
By creating beeswax casts from 3D printed templates, root combines digital precision with natural growth to "program" living materials. This innovative process pushes past the limits of 3D printing alone, pointing towards a new era of programmable, sustainable design. Root textile merges biology and design, enabling the creative industries to transition to circular, eco-friendly materials. It’s a disruptive innovation with far-reaching implications for craft and design in the UK and beyond.
Through her experience as an underwater photographer, Zena Holloway has collaborated with some of the finest fashion stylists, creative directors, designers and thinkers. She is firmly embedded within the creative industries, and from these experiences, the root textile has emerged. It comes from an interplay of craft, design, sustainability, sculpture, product design, biology, chemistry and storytelling—fusing disciplines that would otherwise remain separated.
Rootfull’s innovation embodies the growing movement in bio-design and offers a bridge between technological innovation and ecological harmony. In a world grappling with climate change, resource depletion, and environmental degradation, bio-design emerges as a beacon of hope. It provides a framework for reimagining our technology, architecture, materials, and systems, guided by the wisdom of the natural world.
Zena Holloway’s career as an underwater photographer made her acutely aware of the true depth of the plastic crisis. Managing and reducing our environmental impact is at the foundation of the Rootfull innovation and fundamental to the practice.
Who are Innovate UK? 🧐
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is the UK’s innovation agency. They work to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. With an annual budget of over £1billion, they provide businesses with the expertise, facilities and funding they need to test, demonstrate and evolve their ideas, driving UK productivity and economic growth. https://www.gov.uk/innovateuk