Innovative fibres and processes that address environmental and social concerns could make up 8% of the fashion industry’s materials, or around 13 million tonnes, by 2030, up from 1% today, according to a report by Fashion for Good and Boston Consulting Group. Bringing these new solutions to market is proving to be slow. What is needed to unlock demand?

One pair of jeans or fashion item at a time, the apparel industry is accused of destroying the planet for the sake of style. The denim industry’s single-minded focus on cheaper prices, despite the garment’s universal popularity, puts it in a particularly critical position as pressure grows globally for change and a better future.

Yet the development and adoption of next-generation materials and processes with a lower environmental footprint is painfully slow. The report by Fashion for Good and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) examines the roadblocks and suggests pathways for progress.

“Scaling Next-Gen Materials in Fashion: An Executive Guide” focuses specifically on materials, and to a lesser extent on the many processes involved in making textiles, which will be covered in a future research paper. “Materials are a good basis for storytelling,” says Katrin Ley, head of Fashion for Good. They are also the physical foundation of clothing. The report claims that textiles account for 91% of the industry’s total greenhouse gas emissions through their extraction (24%), processing (15%) and production (52%). These figures come from a 2021 report by the World Resources Institute, based on data from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (now Cascale) and Textile Exchange. This percentage feels high, like most industry data, the raw material extraction phase is probably skewed in favour of synthetics. But that’s another story, and both reports stress the need to adopt next-generation technologies to lessen the burden the industry exerts on the planet. 

An array of future fabrics

The report defines next-generation materials as any innovative fibre having “enhanced sustainability, performance or functionality” that is in development or early commercialisation and requires “further technological advancement and cost optimisation for widespread adoption”. 

Fibres recycled from textile waste are expected to make up the bulk of the next-gen material basket across all families: manmade cellulosic (MMCF), synthetic and natural fibres. The market penetration of MMCFs made from non-wood pulp, bio-based synthetics and biotech-derived materials, such as Spiber’s Brewed Protein, is expected to remain marginal.

Recycled cotton plays a leading role in the world of next-gen materials, as it could reach a market share of around 4% with the advantage, according to the report, of “preserving the key characteristics of natural cotton”. This squares well with current practices in the denim industry. The Denim Deal, in its first iteration in the Netherlands, showed that it was possible to make 5 to 20% post-consumer recycled cotton content an achievable benchmark in denim fabrics. Mills participating in the programme, such as Bossa, see the lower threshold as a realistic goal. It has effectively become a market standard, with the caveat that most recycled cotton comes from production waste, not used jeans. 

Mainstreaming recycled cotton 

At AGI Denim, nearly all denim fabrics now have 5% recycled content. “After discussions with our customers and various assessments, it was decided to integrate at least 5% cotton into all our denim fabrics,” says Henry Wong, head of product development and marketing for North America for the Pakistan-based mill. “This percentage does not affect quality, fabric specifications, or lead times. It may be a small proportion, but it can have a great impact over large volumes.” 

Candiani Denim, in Italy, has also successfully made recycled references a new norm. Regen, which combines 50% post-industrial cotton fibres with 50% Tencel Lyocell with Refibra Technology won a sustainability award at ITMA in 2019. “More importantly, it has been chosen by many brands in the premium and luxury segment as their main fabric, proving our ability to recycle without penalising aesthetics,” Simon Giuliani, Candiani’s global marketing director, tells Inside Denim. Making a denim fabric from post-consumer recycled cotton has been more challenging, he says, as “these fibres are much weaker than post-industrial ones”. The mill launched its PCR denim in 2022, a fabric incorporating up to 30% post-consumer recycled fibres (exclusively from end-of-life jeans) and 70% Blue Seed Cotton fibres, grown regeneratively in Spain. “The longer and stronger Blue Seed Cotton fibres made it possible to reach such a high percentage of recycled content.” The resulting denim’s proximity, traceability, circularity and quality allowed Gucci to take home the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Award for Circular Economy at the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana’s Sustainable Fashion Awards in 2023. 

“Recycled cotton is already in the system and is almost mainstream now,” agrees Sebla Onder, head of sustainability for Orta. She notes that it still poses some quality issues and, without traceability, can be problematic. The Turkey-based mill has been recycling cotton since 2007, but its goal is not – yet – to develop 100% recycled cotton fabrics. “We do not want to compromise on the look, performance, quality or any process parameters such as energy consumption or waste generation during production. So, we do our homework and if a fabric scores A+ then it finds its place in the collection,” she says. 

Ms Onder sees “a hunger for innovation in the sector” but notes that it can also go into overdrive. This was the case when Orta launched denims made from cottonised hemp. “We used the market’s most responsible hemp, grown without any harmful chemicals, pesticides, rain fed only, processed without water, and so on. While the fibre itself was a challenge in production at the time, one of the first reactions coming from the market was: is there a recycled hemp version of this?” This, she says, still shocks her. “We are so focused on the ‘next thing’, that we end up missing the potential of current ones.”

Denim mills have ostensibly “done their homework”, for the most part, in making recycled cotton content prevalent. But how well do other next-gen fibres fare? The Fashion for Good and BCG report cites Tencel as an early example of a more sustainable alternative to viscose. It is relatively widespread and it has been used to promote “100% non cotton” jeans, yet it plays a minor role in denim. 

The gold standard in jeans is to never stray from the authentic cotton denim feel, and this may affect its uptake by the industry. “Lyocell adds drape, softness and shine to a fabric. It elevates denim to luxury rather than authenticity,” says Ms Onder, who does not see demand for the fibre growing. Mr Wong at AGI makes the same point: “The presence of lyocell, above a certain percentage, removes the fabric from the world of denim, unless we make certain adjustments. Otherwise the fabric will not have the right hand or colour, or it may be too shiny.” 

A history of slow market adoption

Elastane is cited as another next-gen fibre. Its sustainability credentials may not be the strongest, but it has played a major role in improving comfort and fit, and extending the life of jeans. Its evolution through time provides a glimpse of how new fibres have scaled in the past. The report notes that when Lycra was first introduced in the 1950s, it cost $100 per kilogramme, by the 1980s DuPont had reduced the price to $35-40/kg. When it entered denims, in the early 1990s, it was $25/kg and the development of Asian production brought its price down to $5-9/kg. On that basis, what are the prospects for the new natural and biobased stretch yarns that are seeking a place in the market? Candiani famously invested heavily in the development of a natural rubber-based stretch yarn, Coreva, to modest success. The Lycra Company is now engaged in a vast campaign to secure adoption of its new partially biobased EcoMade Lycra elastane to launch industrial production. There may however be some resistance, due to its higher cost. 

Renewcell’s troubles confirm the difficulty of bringing an innovative and sustainable alternative to market. Investment in the industry darling totalled some $140 million, with global retailer H&M among its backers, and production from the pilot line bought by Inditex, PVH, Bestseller, Levi’s, Ganni and H&M, notes Tricia Carey in a paper she co-authored with Robert Antoshak for the Stanford Social Innovation Review last July. Reasons for the company’s failure include bad timing, the factory was set up during the pandemic, soaring inventories, high shipping costs and the resource-intensive sourcing of used clothing. Pricing was also an issue, as when Circulose entered the market, virgin cellulosic fibres faced low cyclical prices. She believes the business model would have been stronger had a licensing model been chosen, which would have provided the start-up with ongoing revenue. For Katrin Ley, at Fashion for Good, a key lesson learned is to avoid an IPO, as financial markets do not have the patience to allow a new fibre to find its place in the market. 

Unlocking financing is the crux of the matter for next-gen material innovators, who need both working capital to buy equipment and longer-term support to build demand. “There is no lack of financing,” says Ms Ley, “but there is a lack of de-risking investment.” The three levers to scaling that the report outlines are, first, to secure demand, second, to devise a way to lower costs or reach an acceptable transitional price, and then seek venture capital or private equity. She points to the examples of a few textile-to-textile recyclers’ solutions for scaling: Syre, funded by H&M and TPG’s long-vision Rise Climate fund; Circ’s diverse range of backers, from investors to brands; and Ambercycle’s drive to secure industrial partnerships globally. 

“Innovators need to align their technology with the practices of incumbent manufacturers,” she insists. Reju’s financial and engineering partner Technip, and Infinited Fiber’s latest €40 million funding round, which includes major retailers and apparel manufacturers as well as investors, are two other constructive models. 

Collaboration counts

Since its launch in 2017, Fashion for Good has created countless pre-competitive collaborative projects to bring innovative and sustainable solutions to market. Hundreds of start-ups have benefited from the networking opportunities with manufacturers, and advice the programme provides to win over investors. “Developing the technology is only 10% of the business as the entire ecosystem needs to be considered,” says Ms Carey drawing on her experience at Renewcell. The Swedish company had set up a Circulose Supplier Network, which still have Circulose sheets in stock, but it did not save the company from bankruptcy. 

Circ has also set up a network of Circ-Ready manufacturing partners. The company has developed a process to recycle polycotton waste through a separation technology that depolymerises the polyester and extracts cellulose pulp from the cotton content. It is now pioneering a new framework, known as Fibre Club, led by Fashion for Good, with Canopy as an advisor. It brings together innovators, brands and manufacturers with a clearly stated goal of moving from pilot (a capsule collection) to commercial product to secure offtake for the material innovator. 

“Fibre Club is designed to provide a workaround to the high minimum order quantities (MOQs) that are imposed on buyers, especially at fibre and yarn stage,” Arshiya Lal, Circ’s director of business development, tells Inside Denim. While big retailers like H&M and Zara can often reach MOQs, this system makes it possible to pool the orders of smaller brands that would like to use Circ recycled yarns. 

Four brands are a part of this Fibre Club – Everlane, Bestseller, Eileen Fisher and Zalando – along with fibre producer Birla Cellulose and two mills, Arvind and Foshan Chicley Textiles. Brands will have access to a certain Circ lyocell yarn, which will contain 30% recycled cotton pulp, and focused fabric developments. 

Developing standardised fabric specifications is seen as low-hanging fruit in bringing new materials to market. Making a series of fabrics from a single yarn type can make it easier to reach commercial scale and may also reduce waste, both of time and material. Fashion for Good intends to extend the Fibre Club template to other select groups of stakeholders. “Developing standardised fabric specifications helps lower R&D and production costs,” notes Ms Ley. “And once large-scale production is achieved, free market rules and open competition can then kick in.”

Support in scaling

Innovators undeniably need the expertise of fibre and fabric manufacturers to successfully bring their technologies to market. Mills are often open to innovating and assisting start-ups, but without offtake commitments, it may not be worth the time or resources. Brands and retailers could drive adoption, but they have mostly outsourced their sustainability commitments to their sprawling supply chains. 

Despite being one of the industry’s key hot spots, the development of cleaner dyes and dyeing processes is one of the most glaring blind spots in the apparel manufacturing supply chain. Indigo, in particular. 

Orta recently developed a denim fabric dyed with a biotech indigo made by French start-up Pili Bio. “Our R&D and their technologists worked hand in hand to improve this dye, so we are confident that it has a bright future in the sector,” says Sebla Onder. Its low carbon footprint compared to petrochemical indigo (50% lower according to Pili’s LCA analysis) is a big draw, and Orta has found that it poses no manufacturing issues during dyeing or finishing. It is, however, more expensive than conventional indigo. “If you are only concerned about price, this is not your product. But if you are taking a holistic approach and are looking for regenerative solutions to add to your product portfolio, then Pili is your solution.” 

Brands looking for novel solutions may not fully grasp the implications of their demands, as Efthimia Lioliou, co-founder and COO of Synovance, which is also developing a biotech indigo pigment, has experienced. The testing imposed by brands puts a strain on small companies. “Brands insist on testing. Often, they will gradually increase its scale, from 1-5 kg to 20 kg and then 100-200 kg for a capsule collection. This requires a commitment in the form of investment, joint development, or a deposit. Brands expect start-ups to de-risk their project on their own, with only a promise to buy when the quantities are there,” she tells Inside Denim. 

Scaling is often described as a chicken-and-egg situation: should a start-up first build capacity and then see if there is demand, or should it court buyers, secure offtake commitments, and then seek funding for industrialisation? 
The Fashion for Good report suggests several avenues to pave the way to market, and also predicts that demand for these materials will outpace supply by 2030. Why bother, one could ask. Tightening regulations could be one reason to transition. A broader implementation of extended producer responsibility schemes is expected and the ban on cotton imports from China has already deeply disrupted the denim and jean supply chain. More meaningfully, the report points out that business is already impacted by climate change. It cites the floods in Pakistan and extended droughts in Australia that affected cotton and wool production in recent years. It could also have mentioned the heat waves in Southeast Asia. More than material sourcing, they have had a critical impact on garment manufacturing, an essential part of the fashion ecosystem. So while a utopian greener future calls, a stark reality is already here.

Italian mill Candiani Denim has partnered with Humana People to People Italia to scale up the presence  of recycled cotton fibres from post-consumer jeans in its denims.
PHOTO: Candiani Denim  

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