The fashion industry has a trash problem that frankly, we can’t ignore anymore. Every single second, an entire garbage truck full of textiles gets thrown away somewhere on this planet. To make matters worse, fashion generates more carbon pollution than international flights and shipping combined. Yeah, it’s that bad.

But here’s where things get interesting. A startup called Rubi just figured out how to turn CO2, the stuff that’s literally killing our planet, into the raw materials used to make everyday clothing. We’re talking about the building blocks of fabrics like lyocell and viscose, which are already used by major brands.

Rubi’s approach is pretty wild. Co-founder and CEO Neeka Mashouf explained that they’re basically “taking the machinery of biology outside of the cell” to produce cellulose from captured carbon dioxide. Instead of relying on trees, including ones from virgin rainforests, the company uses enzymes to transform CO2 into textile-grade material. The enzymes float in a solution, and when CO2 gets added, white cellulose appears inside the reactor in just a few minutes.

The startup just raised $7.5 million to scale up their demonstration facility, with major players like H&M, AP Ventures, and FH One Investments backing the project. They’ve already booked over $60 million in non-binding off-take agreements and tested their material with 15 different partners, including H&M, Patagonia, and Walmart.

What makes Rubi’s approach different from other carbon-to-fabric startups is their use of enzymes rather than engineered bacteria or chemical catalysts. Mashouf, who researched new materials as a scientist, teamed up with her twin sister Leila, who studied medicine at Harvard. Together, they realized that enzymes were the way to go. The enzyme industry is already massive, it’s used to make high fructose corn syrup and treat wastewater, so the infrastructure and expertise already exist.

Rubi has used AI and machine learning to make their enzymes work better and last longer. Right now, their reactors fit inside shipping container-sized modules, though they’re working on switching to continuous production methods down the line.

While Rubi is starting with apparel companies as their first customers, Mashouf made it clear this is just the beginning. “This really is a platform”, she said. “We think of it as a platform to make all the important chemicals and materials across the economy in a low-cost way”. That’s the kind of thinking we need in 2026, building solutions that could reshape entire industries and actually help us tackle climate change instead of making it worse.