We are proud to announce that Academy Award–winning actress, filmmaker, and longtime vegan advocate Natalie Portman has joined Uncaged Innovations as a partner.
For more than a decade, Natalie has used her platform to champion ethical fashion and conscious consumption. Vegan for over 14 years, she has consistently challenged the idea that luxury must come at the expense of animals or the planet. Her voice has become one of the most influential at the intersection of culture, fashion, and sustainability.
Now, that advocacy moves from conversation to action.
By joining us, a material science venture redefining high-performance, animal-free materials, Natalie is helping accelerate a new vision for luxury rooted in advanced technology, environmental responsibility, and uncompromising quality.
“Luxury should never require us to look away,” Natalie says. “Not from the planet. Not from the animals. Not from the truth of how things are made.”
Rethinking What Sustainable Materials Really Mean
Natalie’s perspective is shaped by years of examining the contradictions within the fashion industry. While many consumers turn to animal-free options in search of ethical alternatives, she has been vocal about the hidden trade-offs behind conventional substitutes.
Speaking to Vogue, she explained, “I haven’t used any animal products [since going vegan], but many of the products that replace them aren’t necessarily good for the environment. Many of these alternatives contain a percentage of plastic.”
That tension between intention and impact is real. Traditional leather is often described as natural, yet it is one of the most chemically processed materials we wear. “It’s treated with a mix of toxic chemicals and coated in layers of plastic to make it durable,” Natalie has said. What begins as a raw hide is transformed through intensive processing, and those treatments remain embedded in the final product.
At the same time, many so-called vegan options rely heavily on synthetic inputs. Consumers seeking responsibility are often met with materials that still depend on plastic coatings and fossil-based components.This is why we built Uncaged Innovations. Our work is grounded in advanced material science and plant-based structural proteins designed to deliver durability, performance, and sophistication without toxic processing or exploitation. What comes next is not a compromise, but a new standard for how luxury materials are created.
Measurable Impact: Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Luxury Materials
At Uncaged Innovations, performance is only part of the equation. Impact matters just as much. Our material platform has been engineered to significantly reduce the environmental burden associated with conventional leather production. Compared to traditional animal leather, our materials:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95%.
- Require up to 89% less water.
- Use up to 71% less energy in manufacturing.
These reductions are not theoretical ambitions. They are grounded in how we build our materials from the start, using plant-based structural proteins and a controlled, scalable process designed to eliminate toxic tanning and heavy chemical treatments. By removing the most resource-intensive and pollutive stages of leather production, we are able to deliver high-performance materials with a fraction of the environmental cost.
Luxury should not be measured only by how it looks or feels, but by the footprint it leaves behind.
A Defining Moment for Next-Generation Sustainable Materials
This partnership represents more than a milestone. It reflects a broader shift in how industries think about performance, responsibility, and scale. At Uncaged Innovations, we are not developing niche substitutes. We are building a new category of high-performance, next-generation sustainable materials designed for real-world application across fashion, automotive, and beyond.
Our biomaterial made from grains proves that durability, sophistication, and environmental accountability can coexist. As our CEO Stephanie Downs has said, the future of materials will belong to technologies that deliver measurable impact without compromising quality. That belief drives our work every day.
The transition to better materials will not happen through intention alone. It requires innovation, transparency, and leadership. We are proud to stand at the forefront of this transformation, helping redefine what modern luxury truly means.
As Natalie reminds us, “Once we see clearly, we choose differently.”