29acacia
Start
Founded by Sarah Angold, a leading fashion innovator and advisor to global brands, and Varun Raheja, a Forbes 30 Under 30 agri-impact entrepreneur, 29acacia was born from a shared determination to reform the fashion industry’s broken systems. Having witnessed the environmental devastation and human cost of fast fashion, Sarah identified the urgent need for scalable sustainable materials. Meanwhile, Varun had spent his career pioneering waste-to-wealth models that empowered smallholder farmers and reduced emissions.
Together, they created 29acacia, a materials innovation company that converts banana farm waste into a high-performance, carbon-negative fabric indistinguishable in feel and quality from cotton or viscose, but with 90% lower CO₂ emissions. Designed as a plug-and-play solution for textile manufacturers, the technology integrates seamlessly into existing supply chains while fostering farmer income and circularity.
Their mission is to revolutionise fashion through regenerative materials, proving that sustainability and profitability can coexist. With ambitions to raise 200,000 farmers out of poverty and cut the fashion industry’s carbon footprint by 1% by 2030, 29acacia envisions a future where sustainable textiles are not a niche alternative, but the global standard.