Gratama Anniversary Gift 2025

Today’s complex societal challenges rarely, if ever, exactly fit into the framework of one single area of expertise or one single specialism. It is, therefore, of great importance that academics, in consultation with one another, look beyond the borders of their own domain and discipline when looking for the solutions to these challenges.
In order to stimulate this and to celebrate their 100-year anniversary, the Gratama Foundation has made a grant available of €100,000 through the GUF:
the Gratama Anniversary Gift 2025.

Prof. Dr. Marleen Kamperman of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, together with Dr. Marijke Leliveld of the Faculty of Economics and Business, has received a gift of €100,000 from the Gratama Foundation. They receive the one-time prize for their research project aimed at producing organic textiles for sustainable fashion.

The prize was presented on March 28 during the symposium 'The Future of Textiles: Creating Sustainable Ecosystems'.

Textiles from fungi

In this project, Kamperman will work with Studio Veenhoven to improve the properties of mycelium materials. This is a material made from fungi and fungal threads (e.g. remnants of oyster mushroom cultivation). It is 100% biodegradable and you can grow it in all kinds of shapes. These materials are very suitable for making textiles. New biological materials such as mycelium can significantly change the fashion industry and contribute to responsible consumption and production.

Consumer in mind

Current materials are not yet strong enough and can be torn quite easily. The goal is to optimize the material to meet the needs within the fashion industry. In addition to researching the material side of mycelium, the researchers will be investigating the consumer side. Kamperman: ‘Through the rapid exchange of these insights to each other and thus the interaction between material science and consumer behavior, we are working toward a product that both industry and consumers are interested in.’