From Waste to Wear: App State Alumna Develops Sustainable Pigments for Fashion, Printing Industries

App State alumna Jane Palmer ’98 says “wood waste is the new black” — that’s the motto of Nature Coatings Inc., the Los Angeles-based company she founded in 2017.

The business transforms wood waste into high-performing black pigments designed for the apparel industry to use for screen printing, rotary printing, coatings, paint, resin casting, wood coloring and more. Nature Coatings has partnered with such apparel brands as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Target, Jack & Jones, Vollebak and Weekday for a variety of clothing options, including T-shirts, leather and denim.

Nature Coatings’ process provides a carbon-negative, environmentally friendly alternative to the way standard black pigments are produced. The pigments do not contain any detected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can be found in petroleum-based carbon blacks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PAHs have been linked to various harmful health effects, including increased incidences of cancer in animals.

“Petroleum-based carbon blacks are the most produced and used pigments in the world,” said Palmer. “Nature Coatings has essentially created a direct replacement for these pigments that is a lot healthier for both us as people and the planet.”

By Brian Miller. Read more on Appalachian Today