In the west of France, a start-up named Bysco recovers the waste of mussel farmers and transforms mussel byssus into textile fibers.

Modern textiles rely heavily on petrochemical products that come from many of the same oil and gas companies driving greenhouse gas emissions. Today, in fact, fashion accounts for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output—more than international flights and shipping combined, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. What’s more, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year (UNECE, 2018)

Founded in August 2021, the start-up Bysco is based in Nantes, with a first production unit located in Cancale, at the crossroads between Normandy, Brittany and the Pays de la Loire, three of the main mussel-growing regions in France. BYSCO accelerates the environmental transition of materials. The company creates a value chain for mussel waste: mussel byssus (the filaments that allow mollusks to cling to rocks). It organizes the collection, carries out the cleaning of the raw material, subcontracts the textile transformation to Atlanpole and markets its first high performance and biosourced textile solutions. Bysco also offers product development studies in order to validate the possibility of replacing petroleum-based components with a technical textile made of mussel byssus. It is an innovation that is being refined at great pace, and that could meet the needs of many sectors, including construction, fashion, and sports.