189. Infinite Threads: Recycling Athleisure Waste with Samsara’s Vanessa Vongsouthi

<p>Vanessa Vongsouthi, Research Founder and Head of Bioengineering at Samsara Eco, joins host Erum on the Grow Everything Podcast to discuss how engineered enzymes and AI are making it possible to recycle textiles and plastics repeatedly. Vanessa explains how Samsara uses AI-assisted protein design and ancestral sequence reconstruction to create enzymes that break down complex polymers, including Nylon 6,6, into their original chemical building blocks. Those materials can then be returned to existing supply chains and used to create virgin-equivalent products that are indistinguishable from materials made from petrochemicals. She also shares the story behind the world’s first enzymatically recycled Nylon 6,6 jacket, created in partnership with Lululemon, and explores how Samsara Eco was built through Main Sequence Ventures’ orchestration model alongside partners such as Woolworths and the Australian National University. The conversation also looks at what a future built around distributed, local recycling infrastructure could mean for designers, manufacturers, consumers, and the global circular economy.</p><p>Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and interview the leaders and innovators changing the world through biology. Biology is the world’s oldest technology, and it can be engineered. So, what are we growing?</p><p>Learn more at <a href="http://www.messaginglab.com/groweverything" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.messaginglab.com/groweverything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p><strong>Chapters:</strong></p><ul><li>(00:00:00) - Intro: Heat waves, climate impacts, and the bioeconomy</li><li>(00:03:00) - Would Big Tech buy a pharmaceutical company?</li><li>(00:08:00) - Brewed human collagen: Gelatech x Hugel partnership</li><li>(00:10:00) - France bans fast fashion: Shein, Temu, and the Atacama Desert</li><li>(00:13:00) - Introducing Vanessa Vongsouthi of Samsara Eco</li><li>(00:17:00) - Biology as future industrial infrastructure</li><li>(00:22:00) - Programming enzymes with AI and ancestral sequence reconstruction</li><li>(00:29:00) - The Lululemon jacket: proof that enzymatic recycling scales</li><li>(00:35:00) - Distributed recycling and a circular material economy</li><li>(00:42:00) - Post-interview debrief and key takeaways</li></ul><p><strong>Links and Resources:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/vanessa-vongsouthi/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Forbes - Vanessa Vongsouthi</a></li><li><a href="https://www.samsaraeco.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Samsara Eco</a></li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/samsara-eco/?originalSubdomain=au" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Samsara Eco - LinkedIn</a></li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/l9Uk1f-WONA?si=YylDIaJDLHYkuhg4" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">How Samsara Eco made a jacket with Lululemon from enzymatically recycled polyester</a></li><li><a href="https://corporate.lululemon.com/media/our-stories/2025/lululemon-and-samsara-eco-announce-10-year-plan-to-advance-recycled-material-portfolio" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">lululemon and Samsara Eco Announce 10-Year Plan to Advance Recycled Material Portfolio</a></li><li><a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/trade/exports/insights/the-world-has-an-anchovy-problem/articleshow/132129280.cms?from=mdr" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">The world has an anchovy problem</a></li><li><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/30/anthropic-launches-ai-drug-discovery-program-claude-science.html" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">AI Age Anthropic launches AI drug discovery program, joining tech giants in betting on healthcare</a></li><li><a href="https://blog.suggestic.com/nutraceuticals-vs-supplements" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">FDA to fast-track f