Modern Synthesis is making compostable materials that last a lifetime

Jen Keane’s claim to fame is that she grew a shoe using bacteria, coaxing the microbes to deposit their nanocellulose materials in the shape of a sneaker. But she’s kind of over that.

“I feel like that sort of misses the point,” she told TechCrunch. “The fiber produced by bacteria — like, that’s not a new thing.”

That’s not to say her new startup doesn’t use those same fibers — it does — but it takes a different tack, one that’s more similar to the way fabric is made and used today.

Her startup, Modern Synthesis,…