Fashion industry shift puts new focus on bio-based and innovative textiles as Kraig Labs scales recombinant spider silk for potential luxury and performance applications
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) (“the Company”, “Kraig Labs”, or “Kraig’s”), a world leader in spider silk technology*, today highlighted the growing opportunity for advanced biomaterials in fashion as New York Fashion Week begins.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has pointed to bio-based materials, innovative fibers and new approaches to textile development as an important part of the evolving fashion landscape.
For Kraig Labs, the shift reflects a broader transformation already taking place across fashion: innovation is increasingly occurring not only in how clothing is designed, but in what it is made from.
“Some of the most exciting innovation in fashion today is happening at the material level,” said Kim Thompson, founder and CEO of Kraig Labs. “As designers explore new possibilities beyond conventional fibers, we believe spider silk will offer an entirely new combination of lightweight, beauty, and performance.”
Interest in next-generation materials has accelerated across the global fashion industry, with leading designers and luxury houses experimenting with bioengineered fibers, plant-based materials, and other novel textiles. Spider silk, long studied for its exceptional mechanical properties, has begun the transition from scientific research to fashion applications.
Kraig Labs has made major progress in addressing one of the central challenges facing emerging biomaterials: scale.
Unlike approaches that produce silk proteins through fermentation followed by additional processing to create usable fibers, Kraig Labs uses genetically engineered silkworms to produce recombinant spider silk directly. The Company’s production model is designed to leverage the infrastructure, expertise, and processing systems already established by the global silk industry.
Earlier this year, Kraig Labs reported the production of approximately 3.2 metric tons of recombinant spider silk cocoons in a single production cycle, a world record, and those numbers are expected to go higher.
“The challenge for advanced materials is not simply demonstrating what is scientifically possible,” Thompson continued. “To have a meaningful impact on industries like fashion and performance textiles, they must ultimately be manufactured efficiently, consistently, and at commercial scale. That is the challenge Kraig Labs is solving.”
As fashion enters a new era of material experimentation, Kraig Labs believes recombinant spider silk will provide designers and textile manufacturers with a new class of high-performance fiber combining the heritage and manufacturing infrastructure of traditional silk with properties inspired by one of nature’s most remarkable materials.
The Company continues to advance production, processing, and commercialization of its recombinant spider silk technologies for potential applications spanning luxury textiles, performance apparel, protective materials, and other advanced-material markets.
The Company’s leadership in biomaterials was recently spotlighted on the cover of the March 2026 issue of National Geographic, highlighting the growing importance and predominance of our work in scaling spider silk production.
Interested persons can order a copy of National Geographic featuring Kraig Labs at https://ngsingleissues.nationalgeographic.com/natgeo-march-2026.
You can purchase a digital copy of the article directly from National Geographic at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/spider-silk-silkworm-genetic-engineering.
For the latest updates on Kraig Labs and its pioneering spider silk technologies, visit www.kraiglabs.com.
For details about recent Kraig Labs advancements, please watch the Company’s investor updates at www.kraiglabs.com/videos or on the Company’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@kraigbiocraftlaboratories2270.
To view the most recent news from Kraig Labs and/or to sign up for Company alerts, please go to www.KraigLabs.com/news.
* For a description of our historical leadership in this technology, please follow this link https://www.kraiglabs.com/world-leader/.
Kraig Labs Technology is built on a scientifically engineered silkworm, which incorporates key spider silk proteins to produce recombinant spider silk.
About Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (www.KraigLabs.com), a reporting biotechnology company is the leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk-based fiber technologies.
The Company has achieved a series of scientific breakthroughs in the area of spider silk technology with implications for the global textile industry.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
Statements in this press release about the Company’s future and expectations other than historical facts are “forward-looking statements.” These statements are made on the basis of management’s current views and assumptions. As a result, there can be no assurance that management’s expectations will necessarily come to pass. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “foresees,” “estimated,” “hopes,” “if,” “develops,” “researching,” “research,” “pilot,” “potential,” “could” or other words or phrases of similar import. Forward-looking statements include descriptions of the Company’s business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions and goals. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security.
Ben Hansel, Hansel Capital, Inc.
(720) 288-8495
