When it comes to the fabrics we make our clothes from, there’s much confusion. Many of us don’t have a clue what textiles we’re buying and wearing; we’re not really teaching it in schools and brands don’t tend to talk too much about it, not least because so many of the textiles they use are unsustainable synthetics.

But materials matter, and they are all around us. Getting back in touch with them can be really satisfying. And when it comes to creating a more sust fashion industry, their impact is enormous, so what we choose whether as designers or consumers really makes a difference.

Amanda Johnston is an academic and former fashion designer who works on education projects for Sustainable Angle, which puts on the Future Fabrics Expos in London. So she was the obvious person to take us through what’s happening in the world of sustainable textiles today.

Think of this as your Sustainable Textiles 101 go-to! We’re answering some of the popular questions we often get asked: How do you choose the most sustainable textiles? Why is the fashion industry still so dependent on polyester, and why is that a problem? What’s the story with MMCs (man-made cellulosics) and new gen feedstocks? Will biotech materials start to take over? And what do we think about the boom in vegan leather alternatives?

NOTES

SUSTAINABLE ANGLE puts on the Future Fabrics Expo in London, which is all about what she calls ‘diversifying the fibre basket’ - or rethinking fashion materials. Listen to Episode 73 with founder Nina Marenzi here.

Take a deep dive into recycled poly with Cyndi Rhoades here.

SEETAL SOLANKI is the British academic & author of Why Materials Matter.

‘We are often told we are materialist. It seems to me that we are not materialistic enough. We have disrespect for material. We use it quickly and carelessly. If we’re genuinely materialist people, we would understand were materials come from and where they go to.” - George Monbiot,

ACRYLIC is made with plastic threads. The plastic threads are made of a manmade polymer fiber created from fossil fuels through a chemical process. Acrylic fabric is made in a way similar to the production of polyamide fabric (or nylon fabric) and polyester fabric. Like polyester and nylon, acrylic fabric is hydrophobic – meaning it repels water. This can lead to bacteria growth in the fabric which may compromise the structure and cause odor. It also means that acrylic fabric is more likely to create static electricity and cling. Acrylic fabric is also flammable and can be extremely difficult to extinguish, whereas wool is extremely difficult to light. Because of these properties, acrylic is not a good material for clothes. It is usually blended with natural wool fibers or used to mimic wool not for its properties, but for manufacturers to save money on cost of materials. Via Naturalclothing.com

POLYESTER is the dominant fibre today. According to Changing Markets’ Synthetics Anonymous report: “While cotton has historically been the dominant material used for textile production, over the last few decades it has lost much of its market share to plastic-based fibres such as polyester. The first entirely synthetic fibres became widely available in the early 20th century. In 1940 DuPont introduced nylon and, a year later, British chemists John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson patented PET polyester. It wasn’t long before synthetic use experienced a drastic surge: synthetic fibres, which constituted 30% of total global manufactured fibre production in 1975, represented 68% by 2019. In comparison, manmade cellulosic fibres, such as viscose, which had constituted almost 12% of the total in 1975, had fallen to a mere 6% by 2019. While global production of manufactured fibres increased fourfold over these 44 years, synthetic fibre production, largely dominated by polyester, knocked it out of the park, becoming nine times larger by the end of the same period. This means that over the half past century, the production of fossil-fuel-based fibres has grown at double the pace of overall global fibre production.” Read the report here.

MMCS “Regenerated cellulosics are expanding year on year,” says Amanda - but the future is using waste materials as feedstocks. MMCs are traditionally made made from the dissolved wood pulp (“cellulose”) of trees. Viscose, lyocell, acetate and modal are all examples of manmade cellulosics. As a plant-based fiber, manmade cellulosics have the potential to be a more sustainable choice since they are renewable. More on Textile Exchange here.

CLAYTON CHRISTENSEN coined the term Disruptive innovation to describe the process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up market, eventually displacing established competitors.

“WE ARE THE MATERIAL INNOVATORS. WE ARE THE CREATORS. WE ARE ENCOURAGED MORE THAN EVER NOW TO USE THAT MOMENT AND OPEN THE DOOR TO A NEW AGE, TO A NEW ERA OF MATERIALS, TO CALL OUT THE MATERIAL REVOLUTION. TO LET ALL THESE HARMFUL TOXIC INGREDIENTS GO. AND TO START A NEW WAY OF BUSINESS, A NEW ECONOMY THAT IS BASED ON COLLABORATION AND ECO-INNOVATION.”  - Cyrill Gutsch, founder Parley for the Oceans

MYCOWORKS is a biotechnology company based in Emeryville, California, with the mission to create the highest quality materials using mycelium. In 2021, Hermes launched a re-imagined version of its Victoria shopper bag made from the vegan material, proving it is possible to make the highest possible end luxury accessories from stuff that isn’t animal leather…

COLORIFIX is a biotech dying company, harnessing the power of bacteria to replicate colours from Nature. They say: “We offer a radically different solution that entirely cuts out the use of harsh chemistry and leads to huge environmental savings, while meeting all key industry standards.” More here.

ALGAE is the next big sustainable ingredient thing, heralded as a replacement for synthetic dyes and petro-chemical-based fabric finishing agents. JESSICA GIANOTTI is an Italo-Venezuelan living in Scotland and the founder of @crubagofficial - inspired design sharing the unseen beauty and scientific knowledge of our ocean.

SUZANNE LEE is the founder of Biofabricate, a platform nurturing collaboration for design and biology to grow the future of sustainable materials for consumer products.

FUTURE FABRICS EXPO JUNE 2023. Discover responsibly sourced and sustainably produced materials from more than 220 suppliers globally & catch the seminar series. Get your ticket here.

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