Textile startup Flocus uses advanced technology to develop yarn blends and fillings with Kapok, a highly sustainable fiber.

The Kapok tree is found in regions of South America and the West Indies and produces fruitless pods which are filled with fibers. Kapok requires no irrigation, pesticides or fertilizers and the fibers are easy to develop. 

With thin count yarn blends, Flocus Fashion offers a unique open-source textile concept where tailors can customize the blends required for their fabric. 

The Kapok tree itself offers a number of benefits as raw material for the sustainable textile industry:

• Avoids erosion and deforestation
• Preserves water and organically fertilizes the land
• Renewable non-food crop
• Sequesters carbon and supports poly cropping

Each Kapok tree produces up to 30 kilos of fiber once fully grown.

Kapok is five times lighter than cotton and is waterproof and hypoallergenic. Flocus Fashion blends Kapok fibers with cotton, lyocell and recycled polyester to produce new generation sustainable yarn for the textile industry. 

With their technology, Flocus produces yarn blends which can be used for the following products:

• Fiber and Stuffing
• Insulation Material
• Yarn
• Fabric

The resultant blends can be combined with various dyes and customized according to the requirement of the clients. Using Kapok blends aids companies in reducing their carbon footprint due to the natural sustainable properties of the tree.

Flocus aims to work with all elements in the textile supply chain to establish circularity and scale up to commercialize the Kapok blends. Flocus products are BCI, GOTS and GRS certified. 

The startup was one of the participants in the 2019 Fashion For Good Accelerator Program.