15 wacky and original ideas raising millions
The women and girls' fashion sector is a tough one to break into, which is why one entrepreneur duo decided to take a non-traditional approach, and the results are chilling. Tosha Hays and Mary-Cathryn Kolb leveraged their careers at Spanx — which has made the girdle cool again — to found brrrº, a textile tech start-up selling fabric that is permanently cool to the touch. With mounting requests for all kinds of cool-to-the-touch products (think pillowcases, underwear and more), brrrº decided to narrow its focus to the unique cooling technology itself, which can be licensed. The company's patent-pending brrrX technology makes fabric not only cool but also soft and moisture-wicking (quick-drying) with UV protection. Unlike other similar products, brrrº's technology is not triggered by wetting or freezing, but by air — letting air flow through the fabric regenerates it to its coldest state.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/10/15-wacky-and-original-ideas-raising-millions.html?slide=2
brrrº Invited to be Member of Advanced Functional Fabrics of America Institute
brrrº announces today they have been invited to become a charter member of the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) Institute, joining powerhouse brands NIKE, Inc., and Vanity Fair®. AFFOA, a national non-profit organization, is dedicated to innovating fibers and textiles for defense and civilian markets, including designing fabrics that see, hear, sense, communicate, store and convert energy, regulate temperature, monitor health and change color. Backed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and other key partners including industry, academia, government and venture capital, AFFOA is currently working on multiple proprietary fabric innovation projects for the Department of Defense and other organizations in the AFFOA network.
"Tosha Hays' technology-centric vision for Brrr! makes her a perfect partner for envisioning and realizing the future of textiles," says Yoel Fink, MIT.
Former Spanx executives Mary-Cathryn Kolb and Tosha Hays have engineered a permanently cool, powered by air™ fabric that is designed for everyday use, with the style and purpose that today's consumers expect from their apparel and accessories. brrrº's proprietary technology, brrrX™, creates a fabric that is permanently cool, moisture wicking and has UV/SPF protection.
"As we've only just begun to prove, fibers and fabrics can and will 'do more.' Our vision is simple: to change the performance textile global marketplace forever. AFFOA is strategically positioned to deliver revolutionary advances across the entire fabric supply chain and we are thrilled to be on the forefront of the fabric revolution as part of their team," states Tosha Hays, co-founder and CIO of brrrº.
