Stella McCartney to Ralph Lauren Have Ventured Into Vegan Leather

As plant-based materials increasingly replace leather in luxury goods, NFW is one of the companies working behind the scenes to bring vegan materials to fashion brands like Ralph Lauren, Patagonia, and Stella McCartney

This self-proclaimed “material innovations company,” whose name stands for Natural Fiber Welding, is a leader in the wave of vegan materials. NFW’s founder and CEO is Luke Haverhals, who has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Iowa, but always had an interest in economics.

“I asked myself, ‘What is a reasonable way to replace the entire plastics industry, economically speaking?’” Haverhals says. “I was on a quest to make sure humans were less dependent on carbon high toxin materials, I thought what I could do to solve this problem?”

The answer was in plants. Haverhals founded Peoria, Ill.-based NFW in 2015, envisioning a plastic-free future.

“People think plastics are cheap, but they’re among the most expensive and toxic things that humans ever tried to create,” he says.

THE ITEM

NSW provides fabrics for many brands, including Stella McCartney’s MIRUM-made handbags, which are 100% recyclable and circular—meaning at the end of their life, the material can be reused to make something else.

The name of this fabric comes from the Latin word for “miracle,” Haverhals says. “We don’t call it ‘leather,’ but it’s a leather-like material. It allows us to work with fashion designers and brands and we aim to start well, stay clean, and end well with regenerative materials. We don’t add bioplastics or polyurethane.”

The collection of NFW’s Mirum-fabric includes the Falabella MIRUM Tiny Tote Bag and the Frayme bag. They were launched at the Fall/Winter 2023 runway show at Paris Fashion Week in spring of 2023, and are available for pre-order, shipping out this month. They’re the world’s first luxury handbags crafted from this new vegan, plastic-free alternative.

McCartney aims to source 100% of her products from recyclables by 2025. “McCartney has been instrumental to NFW, she is a guiding light to the industry,” Haverhals says. “If we can get more luxury brands onboard, it will be better for others to get clean materials into their products, as well.”

The collection is a “call-to-action to take a stand for our planet,” McCartney said in a statement. “I have long dreamed of the day when we would see a plant-based alternative to leather that does not kill a single creature and can be easily given back to Mother Earth, without creating waste.”

(NFW is also funded by the Collab SOS Fund, a US$200 million fund which invests in companies that power a more sustainable economy. McCartney is one of its co-founders).

THE PRICE

As an example of the luxury goods NFW provides materials for, the Falabella Mirium Tiny Tote Bag sells for US$1,170.

WHAT’S THE GOOD?

NFW uses natural ingredients like vegetable oil and citric acid. “They can easily be turned into natural polymers when they break down,” Haverhals says. “We use natural rubber, cotton, we source regenerative cotton, we use cork, leftover from wine bottles, we use rice hulls, which are thrown out, a lot of things that are overlooked in the supply chain.”

WHAT’S NEXT

The company is gearing up for a launch with Ralph Lauren. It recently opened a factory in Peoria, as part of their expansion, and plans to expand to Europe, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, and China. “It’s important for us to be in China and we are proud to be partnering with them, helping take care of people and animals on the planet we share,” Haverhals says.

More than 1,500 brands reach out to NFW. “Everyone wants to better their brand,” he says. “When you think of shoes, bags and apparel, we are cleaning up the supply chain,” Haverhals says. “That’s our mission—to enable the world in a transparent, traceable way—where we don’t have any polyurethane goblins hiding in the closet.”

A new investment fund targeting celebrity-founded consumer brands has secured US$40 million in commitments and is rapidly approaching its US$50 million fundraising target, signalling growing investor appetite for alternative opportunities beyond traditional asset classes.

The Global Talent Fund, which has a maximum raise of US$100 million, focuses on building and investing in consumer businesses alongside celebrities, athletes, and influential personalities who play an active role as co-founders rather than simply endorsing products.

The strategy is based on the belief that changes in consumer behaviour, particularly the rise of social media and digital engagement, have fundamentally altered how brands are built and scaled.

GTF founding partner Jeremy Hunt, who is helping lead the fund’s strategy, said consumers increasingly feel connected to personalities they follow online and are more willing to support products developed by those individuals.

“Consumers are searching for content to engage with, and when a celebrity they like or follow takes them on the journey of creating a product or brand, they genuinely feel part of that process,” he said.

The fund is targeting high-growth consumer sectors including wellness, hydration, beauty and recovery, areas Hunt believes continue to benefit from strong global demand and ongoing innovation.

Rather than backing celebrity endorsement deals, the fund is seeking businesses where talent is deeply involved in product development, brand creation and long-term growth.

According to Hunt, authenticity remains one of the biggest differentiators between successful celebrity-backed brands and those that fail.

“The consumer can see clearly if someone is simply being paid to promote a product,” he said. “The winners are typically the brands where the celebrity has genuinely helped build the business from the ground up.”

The model has attracted support from several prominent Australian investors and business families, reflecting broader interest in alternative investments with global growth potential.

Hunt said consumer brands offered a level of tangibility that many investors found appealing.

“Consumer brands are what we touch, feel, smell and taste every day,” he said. “Our investors understand the growth potential in the model, but they also want to be part of the journey.”

The fund’s rapid progress towards its fundraising target comes amid growing recognition that celebrity influence, when combined with strong commercial execution and scalable business models, can create significant enterprise value.

With several high-profile celebrity-founded businesses generating billion-dollar exits in recent years, supporters of the strategy believe the opportunity remains in its early stages.

For more information, contact marc@kanerbridge.com.au

Stella McCartney to Ralph Lauren Have Ventured Into Vegan Leather—Meet Their Supplier

With US$40 million already committed, the Global Talent Fund is attracting investor attention with a strategy focused on building globally scalable consumer brands alongside high-profile talent.