For many industries, the key to their long-term survival is becoming fully sustainable. Across the fashion and lifestyle sectors, depletion of traditional resources, ever-stricter environmental protocols, and heightened consumer demand for eco-friendly products, is seeing material scientists, manufacturers and suppliers working hard to develop new products that raise industry standards. The ultimate end-goal is to achieve full circularity with transparent supply chains that inspire confidence, educate, and aid a more conscious, and cautious, consumer in making informed product purchasing decisions. Building trust through company transparency, combined with inspiring ideas that will both excite, and resonate with, a customer base will be crucial to ensuring future industry success in challenging times.
Today, we invite Trendstop’s team of experts to introduce key material innovations that are influencing future product development and changing the face of industry production.
Green New Materials
Hemp is full of ecological virtues with an increasing presence in commercial material manufacture. A bast fibre derived from the stem of the plant, its natural vegetal structure is highly durable. The resultant fabric texture akin to that of linen that can be made more supple when blended with bamboo or organic cotton at the spinning stage. Hemp fabric has many natural advantages including keeping the wearer warm in winter, cool in summer as well as offering antibacterial properties and protection from UV rays. The plant itself grows densely so it requires less land for cultivation than cotton for an equivalent yield. It also keeps competitor plants at bay, reducing the need for herbicides and a high level of pest-resistance. Compared to the thirsty cotton plant, hemp requires around 50% less water per growing season as well as a reduced amount for processing, reducing its impact on the environment.
Hemp blends are becoming increasingly popular in the denim industry, an important step for a sector that produces the world’s second most sold garment after the T-shirt. Naveena Denim is one such manufacturer committed to incorporating environmental protections into their processes. In collaboration with one of Mainland China’s largest hemp manufacturers, they are reducing their dependence on cotton. Capable of spinning their own yarn on site, Naveena’s blend of cotton, hemp and Tencel sees the cotton component of the product reduced to 49%. Combined with Spanish company Jeanologia’s laser technology, that can recreate a variety of surface finishes without the need for traditional chemical and washing techniques, Naveena’s denim requires significantly less water and energy to produce, drastically reducing the end product’s carbon footprint.
It is not just fabric manufacturers who are taking up the challenge of creating a sustainable industry. Trims, hardware and finishing techniques are also key in making a garment fully sustainable. Italy’s Bottonificio Piemontese have developed the Hemp Canapa button, an eco-friendly button made from recycled hemp. A premiere trims supplier across a range of fashion categories, from couture to contemporary to sportswear, Bottonificio Piemontese’s green series also utilises a variety of other recycled raw materials including jute, corozo powder, cotton, bio-resin and even paper, for their elegant, perfectly matte button designs.
Trend takeaway: Sustainable materials alternatives are increasingly cost effective as well as ecologically sound. Transparency is essential when sourcing, for example, to ensure natural materials are organic or supply chains are ethical.
Animal Alternatives
Whilst the tanning industry has made great strides in overhauling its manufacturing processes to become more sustainable, leather alternatives are hot on the heels of traditional animal-derived products. Responding to raised environmental awareness amongst consumers and the growing popularity of more vegan-based lifestyles, non-animal skins are developing at pace. Early iterations have sometimes relied on polyurethane to replicate natural leather properties, but a new breed of material specialists is aiming to change that with more sustainable, low impact, biodegradable developments.
Produced in Mexico, Adriano Di Marti’s Nopal cactus material offers one such alternative. Cacti are a very resilient plant, requiring only a small amount of rainwater and minerals to grow. The cacti are cultivated on a plantation at an altitude of 2500m without the use of pesticides or herbicides, preserving the regions biodiversity. Harvesting takes place every six to eight months, giving the plant time to regenerate. After cutting the mature leaves, they are dried under the sun for a few days before being transformed into Desserto® vegan, PETA approved leather via a specially patented formula. The whole process is 100% organic with a low ecological footprint. Desserto® is durable yet soft, suitable for a variety of applications including apparel, accessories, luxury packaging and furniture and their Desserttex® material has been developed exclusively for the automotive industry. The aim is to offer cruelty free, sustainable alternatives, without any toxic chemicals, phthalates, and PVC.
TÔMTEX is a 100% bio-based material created from shell seafood waste and coffee ground. Developed as a response to the lack of established recycling methods for both these waste products, TÔMTEX offers a sustainable alternative to faux or animal leather. Free of plastic and PLA, it is also 100% biodegradable. The transparent manufacturing process aims to minimise toxic chemicals and therefore, its impact on the environment. It comes without the constraints of existing materials, with fewer limitations on size, thickness, and scaling. Soft, durable, and high performing, any surface animal or exotic pattern can be recreated on its surface whilst a coating of beeswax enhances water resistant properties. It will naturally decompose or can be recycled, with the recycled version still offering the same performance and quality as before.
Trend takeaway: Plant-based materials offer a viable alternative to animal products as consumer awareness of welfare and environmental issues increase.
Circular Sneakers
Circularity is a key area of product development and materials that can be broken down via composting or fully recycled into ‘new products’ are integral to the success of this endeavour. Performance footwear is a particularly challenging product to make biodegradable because of the durability required and the number and complexity of the components involved in the design. Their mode of construction means that it can be unprofitable, if not impossible, to recycle sneakers post-use. Material scientist Theanne Schiros collaborated with New York streetwear label Public School to create a sneaker from microbial bio-leather, a leather alternative that does away with the need for extractive petroleum-based textiles. It maintains its durability and performance and is a prime example of how experimental materials can be translated into a desirable, universal product. Almost the entire trainer, including the upper, midsole and laces, are produced from a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, a key ingredient in making kombucha tea. Through fermentation, a leather substitute is created that has up to a 97% lower carbon footprint than synthetic PU leather. Schiros discovered that while the bio-leather has a lifespan of several years, it remains "backyard compostable" and will break down over a couple of months in a domestic compost heap. "The aim was to create something that looked great and could communicate that through collaboration, with nature and each other, we can create high performance, degradable products with a circular lifecycle," Schiros explains. The dyeing techniques used are also 100% natural, eliminating the usual toxic dyeing processes. Public School wanted part of the shoe to be a deep opaque black, a difficult colour to replicate sustainably, but this was achieved by combining indigo pigment, derived from the leaves of the plant, with a binder of fresh soy milk.
Emilie Burfeind developed her concept, the ‘Sneature,’ as a solution to the problems associated with recycling sports footwear. Both the materials and the manufacturing process are sustainable. The design utilises just three bio-based materials made from organic waste. The seamless, knit sock upper is made from combed dog hair, crowdsourced from dog owners and spun into Chiengora yarn. The 3D knit technology used in the construction, allows for waste-less production without off cuts or excess fabric. The sneakers can also be made on demand, minimising excess stock. Mycelium, a filament structure of mushrooms, is blended with hemp and agricultural waste, grown in a mould to create the inner and outer sole and the shoes are finished with a water-repellent, natural rubber mudguard. At the end of its lifespan, Sneature can be broken down in a composter, returning nutrients to the ecological cycle in as little as four weeks, or the components can be shredded and reused or separated and respun into fresh yarn, ready to create a new sneaker.
Trend takeaway: Combining natural materials with new technologies allows for even the most environmentally challenging products to achieve full circularity.
In Harmony with Humanity
Fusing inherent natural qualities with man-made technology and engineering is producing a new generation of sustainable materials with next-level performance properties. These innovations are aiming to change the face of material development whilst simultaneously reconnecting the end-user with their environment. BioLogic fabric, created by MIT’s Tangible Media Group in collaboration with the Royal College of Art, is a self-transforming biological skin activated by living bacteria. Using the microorganism Bacillus Subtilis Natto combined with an automatic printing system that layers the cells onto fabric, the resultant bio-skin fabric utilises the bacteria’s ability to expand and contract in the presence of heat and moisture. The “Second Skin” living garment projects features diamond shaped openings beneath two flaps of material, that respond to body heat and perspiration, opening to provide ventilation and cooling as the wearer warms up. In addition, shape-shifting and colour-changing properties can be incorporated, or heating circuits added, so the material could be controlled by electrical signals. Beyond it’s potential for use by the fashion and performance markets, the bioLogic concept offers a range of possible future applications across different product categories. It has also been used to create a steam activated teabag label, indicating when the tea is ready to drink, bio hybrid flowers whose petals open and close and light bulb activated lampshades that sculpt the light emitted. Sustainable textile innovators such as Milan-based Majocchi are already producing colour-changing fabrics for commercial use. Thermochromic dyes that react to heat are delivered via liquid crystal or micro-encapsulate thermochromic systems. The increased use of thermochromic properties by manufacturers signifies reactive and responsive properties as a growth area in material development.
Trend takeaway: Products made using responsive materials, imbued with performance qualities offer longevity and value to consumers, aiding the move beyond a throw-away societal mindset.
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