Hero N° 18 sits inside the movement category — one of eighteen launches in a portfolio built around modern science layered onto inherited ritual.
Each hero in the portfolio is a deliberate bet on a specific consumer shift: away from default Western formats, toward functional, ingredient-honest products with provable mechanisms. This page is the public-facing brief. The full thesis — formulation, unit economics, supply chain, founder background — lives behind the deal-room door.
More than nine in ten performance base layers contain petroleum-derived fibres. The athlete who has optimized every other input — protein, sleep, recovery, hydration — is still running in plastic.
The 6 a.m. run. The yoga class. The commute. The base layer sits against the skin for 8–12 hours, absorbing sweat and releasing microplastics into wash water.
Sustainable athletic wear has grown from niche to mainstream, but most 'eco' options blend recycled polyester with conventional synthetics. True zero-plastic performance is still an empty shelf.
The performance consumer who owns a Whoop, drinks clean protein, and is now looking for a base layer that matches the rest of their stack.
We do not invent rituals. We replace the product inside one. Each hero in the portfolio sits on a specific, repeatable moment in the consumer's day — one the incumbent has owned for a generation and is now losing.
01
06:00
The morning run
The base layer is the first piece of equipment the runner puts on and the last they take off. It should perform without leaving plastic in the washing machine.
02
Midday
The commute
Urban commuters spend 90 minutes daily in close contact with base layers under workwear. Breathability and odour control matter as much as in the gym.
03
Evening
The practice
Yoga practitioners hold poses for minutes in skin-tight fabric. The material should regulate temperature and stay fresh without chemical biocides.
The incumbent shelf
- —Nike / Adidas synthetic lines
- —Recycled-polyester greenwashing
- —Fast-fashion activewear
- —Conventional elastane blends
The new wave
- +Zero-plastic natural-fibre performance
- +Regenerative wool base layers
- +Cellulose-based stretch alternatives
- +Ayurvedic antimicrobial finishing
"The athlete who cares about inputs has no credible option for the fabric that touches their skin for twelve hours a day."
$192B global activewear market; $38B in sustainable/ethical athletic wear, growing at 12.4% CAGR.
Patagonia and Girlfriend Collective proved the willingness to pay a 40–60% premium for sustainable athletic wear. Neither has built performance base layers that truly match synthetic wicking, stretch, and compression without any petroleum content. The gap is widening as the consumer base moves from 'aware' to 'intolerant' of plastic.
The product specifics — the proprietary formulation, the brand architecture, the channel strategy, the unit economics — are deliberately not on this page. We don't publish the recipe to the open internet.
- Full formulation & ingredient stack
- Clinical and mechanism-of-action references
- Founder thesis and category positioning
- Unit economics and pricing model
- Supply chain and manufacturing partner
- Go-to-market plan and channel mix
- Can natural fibres really perform like synthetics?
- The proprietary weave and fibre blend achieves comparable moisture-vapour transmission and stretch recovery to polyester-spandex at equivalent weights. Full performance data is in the deal-room.
- What about odour?
- Ayurvedic antimicrobial finishing (neem-tulsi-turmeric) achieves 4-log bacterial reduction without silver ions. The fabric stays fresh longer than untreated cotton and matches treated synthetic performance.
- Does it cost more?
- Yes — roughly 40–60% above mass-market synthetic. The same premium the sustainable activewear consumer already pays to Patagonia or Girlfriend Collective, but for a product with zero petroleum content.
The next move.
The investor deck, unit economics, and a direct line to the founder live behind the deal-room door. Or stay close to the portfolio with a monthly subscriber drop — first look on every new SKU.
