University of Michigan startup aims to revolutionize recycling, traceability, and anti-counterfeiting through photonic fibers
A University of Michigan spinoff, Fibarcode, has received $1.6 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to commercialize an innovative textile-tracking technology that embeds optical barcodes directly into fabric fibers. The breakthrough could transform how garments are recycled, authenticated, and traced through global supply chains.
Currently, less than 15% of the 92 million tons of textiles discarded each year are recycled, largely due to poor material traceability. Conventional tags are easily lost, cut, or counterfeited. Fibarcode’s solution—photonic fibers with layered acrylic and polycarbonate—creates structural color effects that encode unique optical “signatures.” When scanned under specific light wavelengths, these signatures reveal detailed information about a textile’s composition, origin, and production chain.
Each fiber can store multiple identifiers, invisible to the naked eye but readable with a scanner, enabling both recycling centers and fashion brands to verify material authenticity and content without external labels.
The NSF Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Fast-Track grant will fund pilot programs with recycling partners and apparel manufacturers. Fibarcode, founded in 2024 by Dr. Brian Iezzi, builds on earlier NSF-backed research from the lab of Professor Max Shtein at U-M’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
With patent protection secured through U-M Innovation Partnerships, the startup aims to accelerate adoption across the textile and circular economy value chain—linking digital identity, sustainability, and material science into a single fiber.
