Did we shoot for the moon?

Photo above from Wheat's AW26 campaign: A child wears Wheat's thermo jacket and pants made from GRS-certified recycled polyester, CU1198955. Wheat thermo wear is designed for active outdoor play Spring through Autumn. 

August 25, 2026: Together with Pond Biomaterials we've spent two years developing a bio-based textile made from PLA – plant-based, biodegradable, and made from agricultural waste.

It is an ambitious project, and we have learned some valuable lessons - among these: dye behaves differently on bio-based fabric. And with a product category (thermo wear for kids) that has to survive high doses of sunshine, occasional rain, soil, juice stains, and the odd wash – the colorfastness didn't pass the test of our standard. 

So the challenge remains open. If you have solved it or are facing a similar challenge, we'd love to hear from you!

What's next? We are exploring the use of this bio-textile for sewn-in labels. And early tests on linings look promising... More to come 😊

As we wrap up this chapter, we warmly thank Food & Bio Cluster Denmark and the EU for co-funding, Pond Biomaterials for their expertise, and our supply chain partners for going on this ride with us.

Finally, we can't help but wonder: Is kids outerwear too demanding for this kind of project? Did we shoot for the moon? We'll see. One thing is certain: Kids apparel is the ultimate test 😉

 

Image above: A close-up of samples knitted with bio-based yarn. The fabric looks and feels almost exactly like thermo-wear made from recycled polyester. We dyed the bio-fabric in a selection of signature Wheat colours that carry over season after season.