Getting Into the (Sea)Weeds with Keel Labs’ Aleks Gosiewski and Tessa Callaghan

For the future of sustainable textiles, should we look no further than … the ocean? Today we’re speaking with Aleks Gosiewski and Tessa Callaghan, the founders of Keel Labs, a sustainable materials company built on regenerative principles. Keel Labs’ signature product is Kelsun, a seaweed-based yarn with a significantly lower environmental footprint than traditional fibers. 

Alex and Tessa met as design students at the Fashion Institute of Technology and went on to win the first-ever Biodesign Challenge in 2016. In the years since they founded Keel Labs, both women have been named as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30. In this episode, we chat with Tessa and Aleks about the promise of kelp as a regenerative raw material, the process of turning kelp into a functional textile, and we dive into - no pun intended - the challenges and rewards of building a company with sustainable innovation at its very core. 

Show Notes

• Keel Labs
• Forbes’ 30 Under 30 2022 (Manufacturing)
• Would You Wear a Sweater Made Out of Seaweed? (HighSnobiety)
• A new material made from seaweed will transform the entire textile industry by Tessa Callaghan (Upworthy)
• Keel Labs on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn
• Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)
• The Biodesign Challenge

Key Words: Keel, Keel Labs, Ocean, Seaweed, Kelp, Algae, Fashion, Design, Fashion Design, Textiles, Materials, Sustainability, Regenerative, Regenerative Materials, Environment, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Solutions, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Biodesign