With the Summer Olympics getting underway this week in Tokyo, one Peoria company has a hand in what athletes will be wearing.
During the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Team USA members will don parade apparel from Ralph Lauren featuring a patch made with Natural Fiber Welding's plant-based leather alternative Mirum.
Ralph Lauren Corp. is one of NFW's major investors, and the Mirum Olympic patch was developed in partnership between the companies. NFW founder and CEO Luke Haverhals said any increased attention benefits the company.
“We live in this very interesting world where, when we talk about how large the leather industry and the leather-like industry is, sometimes it's hard for people to comprehend that there's literally hundreds of millions of dollars per year of just little things like patches and trim that get sold in the world,” he said.
Ralph Lauren deliberately used sustainable materials in developing the Team USA apparel.
“As we come together to celebrate and compete, we must also embrace our responsibility to the planet we call home,” David Lauren, the company’s vice chairman and chief innovation officer said in the news release. “As part of this, we are proud to continue to invest in and scale sustainability innovations – dressing our nation’s best and brightest athletes in timeless clothing that has been consciously created.”
The Opening Ceremony will be held Friday and the Closing Ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 8.
