Walmart to Test Carbon-Capture Apparel With California Startup
Rubi Laboratories will capture carbon dioxide from Walmart’s supply chain and convert it to cellulose, which can be used to make yarn.
A customer browses clothing for sale at a Walmart location in Burbank, California.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergWalmart Inc. is teaming up with a California startup to test technology that removes carbon dioxide from its supply chain, with plans to eventually turn that CO2 into yarn for clothing.
As part of a pilot project with San Leandro-based Rubi Laboratories Inc., Walmart will identify factories in its supply chain where carbon dioxide in waste gases can be captured using Rubi’s reactor systems. The majority of the world’s captured CO2 is currently used for oil extraction, according to the Global CCS Institute, but Rubi’s system uses biochemical processes to convert the gas to cellulose, the main substance in the walls of plant cells. It’s a technique inspired by the way trees use carbon dioxide to grow.