Arda Biomaterials and Beavertown Brewery team up to turn brewery waste into sustainable fashion accessories

Arda Biomaterials, which turns spent brewery grain into leather like materials, has partnered with Beavertown Brewery to create an upcoming branded collection of accessories.

This collaboration marks the second major partnership for Arda in recent months, following the launch of a leather like concept handbag with BEEN London, which was displayed at the Future Fabrics Expo in June.

The first pieces in the Beavertown X Arda collection are card holders displaying Beavertown’s iconic skull and bones design.

The collaboration’s initial production is a limited run of eight pieces. The card holders will be on display at Beavertown’s pop-up at London’s Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

Arda's latest partnership reflects a move to scale its material, New Grain - a leather like material free of animals and plastic that is made from Brewers’ Spent Grain (BSG), specifically the barley proteins.

The material, made with spent grain sourced from Beavertown’s North London brewery, can be produced in colours ranging from light tan to black depending on the type of grain used - from IPAs and lagers to stouts - and in a variety of patterns including snake and crocodile. 

Arda Biomaterials CEO, Brett Cotten, says: “This partnership with Beavertown not only highlights the potential of New Grain as a completely novel material rooted in science, but also showcases our incredible speed.”

“The Arda team strives to commercialise our innovations with haste at scale, so that we may reduce humanity’s reliance on animals and plastics for materials.”

Arda Biomaterials CTO, TJ Mitchell, says: “This partnership is a perfect example of how we can be fast-movers in supporting local supply chains and contributing to a circular economy, all while offering consumers unique products directly linked to their favourite breweries and distilleries, such as Beavertown.”

“By leveraging Beavertown’s strong brand identity and loyal customer base, we are taking significant steps toward making fashion accessories crafted from next-generation materials mainstream.”

Arda has plans to expand its product offerings with Beavertown, such as with bags, keyrings, and hats anticipated in the near future.

Rachael Harrison, Head of Digital Marketing at Beavertown, says: “This is a project we’re all really excited by here at Beavertown - Arda’s innovation in the beer waste space captured our attention from the get-go, and we’re delighted to welcome the public to our summer pop-up to share our first-of-its-kind spent barley grain card holders.” 

Members of the public, as well as industry professionals, can view the card holders and learn more about Arda’s work at Beavertown’s pop-up in Shoreditch, London, from 17th-30th August at Unit 11, Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, Shoreditch.

The pop-up will also feature Beavertown clothing, signed artwork, tattoos, and its latest beer creations.

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Sustainable retail is a key focus area for the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, which is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Key 2024 dates

Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline 

Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed

30th October-6th November: Judging days

Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.