Architecture alumnus honoured for innovative tech to reduce fashion's environmental impact.
A graduate of the Waterloo School of Architecture has been recognized by a national organization for young entrepreneurs for her work to make fashion greener.
Iris Redinger (BAS ’21) was one of five winners of Mitacs Entrepreneur Awards honoured at a recent event in Montreal for her Waterloo-based startup company, Material Futures.
Supported by several entrepreneurial programs at the University of Waterloo, including Velocity and the Engineer of the Future Fund, Redinger launched the company in 2018 to help reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry.
Her innovative solution uses micro-organisms to produce all-natural, biodegradable dyes, essentially growing colour that can be easily substituted in existing manufacturing processes. She hopes to launch commercial products based on the technology, which also has potential applications in industries including cosmetics and plastics, next year.
'All possible through the architectural program'
Redinger, who won in the Environmental Entrepreneur category, learned to sew at a young age and got invaluable insight into the fashion industry during a co-op term with Dutch designer Iris van Herpen in her first year of studies at Waterloo.
Read the full article by Brian Caldwell.