The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) is pleased to recognize Aja Labs for its decision to join more than 45 industry-leading organizations as a member of the Institute.
Founded in 2020, Aja Labs is a venture-backed materials innovation company creating the next generation of safe-for-people and safe-for-the-planet fibers and materials by collaborating with nature. Aja Labs is comprised of a team of Black scientists and innovators whose first product was developed in conjunction with North Carolina State University. Nourie, the company’s first consumer brand, features patent-pending hair extensions, including a time-release function that delivers a nutrient complex over time during wear.
The scope of the “false hair” market is largely invisible to consumers, yet it is estimated as a multi-billion dollar industry, according to recent market reports.[1] Many of the products in the market are intended to be single-use, leading to waste disposal and resource utilization issues, which often impact marginalized communities to the greatest degree. Nourie addresses these issues by being based upon a plant-based, biodegradable fiber upcycled from crop waste using scalable engineering methods, while also meeting consumers’ high standards of aesthetic and functional performance.
By utilizing agricultural inputs as feedstock and designing the product to be biodegradable, Aja Labs is striving to apply the concepts of a circular economy to the false hair industry.
Commercialization efforts are currently underway at Aja Labs to scale their plant-based, biodegradable fiber sourced from plant-based feedstocks manufactured using scalable engineering methods. Aja Labs is taking a multidisciplinary approach and leverages green chemistry, polymer science, rheology and materials engineering to deliver a novel fiber that can match the aesthetic of hair and surpass the functional performance of hair. By utilizing agricultural inputs as feedstock and designing the product to be biodegradable, Aja Labs is striving to apply the concepts of a circular economy to the false hair industry.
Aja Labs found NWI’s various membership levels to be flexible to meet their needs. As a “Startup Member” Aja Labs receives many of the benefits of NWI membership at an affordable level of expense. Startup membership and the incubator capabilities of NWI’s non-profit affiliate LINC are examples of NWI’s ongoing commitment to innovation and industry growth.
For more information about Aja Labs and its product offerings, visit https://www.ajalabs.co as well as https://www.nouriehair.com
Membership in NWI brings a variety of benefits and can be scaled to meet member needs.
[1] Fortune Business Insights (2021). “Hair Extension Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Synthetic, Human, and Animal), By End User (Male and Female), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028. Market Research Report.”
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