Neeka Mashouf

Growing up in the family behind the women’s apparel brand Bebe, Neeka Mashouf was exposed from a young age to fashion’s allure—and to its environmental footprint. Not only does the fashion industry use more water than any sector besides agriculture; it’s also a major contributor to deforestation and is responsible for up to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Mashouf, now 28, thinks she’s found a way to help the industry clean up its act. Her California-based startup, Rubi Laboratories, engineered a process to create textiles directly from carbon dioxide pulled from the atmosphere. The concept might sound fanciful, Mashouf says, but it’s effectively mimicking the natural behavior of plants. 

She and her twin sister, Leila, who co-founded Rubi, took inspiration from the Bay Area’s giant redwoods; like all trees, they breathe in CO₂ and use enzymes to turn it into cellulose, the primary substance in leaves and branches. Some semi-synthetic fabrics, like Rayon and Lyocell, are made with cellulose derived from wood pulp. Rubi’s goal was to replicate these materials without cutting down any trees down. 

Achieving this involved lots of tinkering with enzymes, the proteins that accelerate chemical reactions. Through a mix of naturally occurring enzymes and others made in a lab with the help of AI, Mashouf and her team engineered a CO₂-to-cellulose textile fabrication process that’s high-yielding, energy-efficient, and, they claim, will eventually be cost-effective at an industrial scale. The company has produced trial fabrics for fashion brands like Walmart, H&M, and Patagonia, including some made with CO₂  that’s been captured from industrial processes. 

According to Mashouf, clothing made with Rubi materials could hit stores as soon as early 2026. It’s not yet clear how cost-competitive these wares will be with those made from conventional fabrics. Still, Mashouf thinks the Rubi concept could someday drive more environmentally friendly manufacturing across a range of sectors, including building materials, packaging, and foods.