Sustainable Textile Innovations news and archive

When fashion meets protein fibres: “Biotechnology can be a powerful force for good”

Spiber a is bio-venture from Japan that has been harnessing the power of fermentation to produce fibres. How does one have to picture this? It started with bioinformatics researchers Kazuhide Sekiyama and Junichi Sugahara investigating methods for producing spider web fibres through fermentation in 2004. Three years later, they used their...

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New platform supports sourcing of flax-linen and hemp in Europe

The Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp has launched a new online platform that enables users to select creative textiles for fashion and home markets, as well as explore the latest innovations in European flax-linen and hemp materials and textile & technical solutions. The new platform, Linen & Hemp Dream Lab, is the result of the merger of...

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Business|Opinion

Cotton vs. polyester - why the recent cotton ban rumour managed to create such ripples

The text that probably triggered the rumours of an alleged EU-wide cotton ban by 2030 was a partner article. The article stressed that cotton was still an ‘environmental problem’, with the conclusion suggesting that an EU ban on cotton was in the offing if the fashion industry itself did not take action because European regulations made it so....

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Fashion |Interview

Keel Labs unveils first seaweed-fiber collection with Outerknown

As the fashion industry continues to grapple with the environmental impact of both man-made and natural fibers, the need for next-gen, sustainable materials has never been higher. Synthetic materials like polyester and nylon, which account for two-thirds of the industry’s raw material usage, are made using fossil fuels and contribute to...

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New bio-based polyester could solve problem of artificial leather recycling

Artificial leather is indispensable to the fashion industry – it helps avoid using animal leather and is often the base for accessories such as bags, belts and more, which meet the needs of an increasingly vegan clientele. However, opinions on its environmental friendliness are divided – while some welcome the fact that there are versatile...

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Sustainability in fashion: highlights from January to March 2024

In the first quarter of 2024, much happened again in terms of sustainability efforts in the textile and apparel sector and related industries. For example, there was a lot to read - you should not miss the important reports mentioned below, changes in legislation, interviews conducted by FashionUnited with industry pioneers, as well as...

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New report explores how next-gen silk could disrupt the materials industry

Nonprofit think tank Material Innovation Initiative (MII) has published a report titled “What Makes Silk, Silk? Revisited 2023”, which explores silk’s unique properties and highlights key opportunities and challenges to inspire a new generation of scientists and entrepreneurs to develop high performance, luxurious and sustainable next-gen silk...

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Fashion

Luxury label to watch: vegan bags by Luckynelly

Luckynelly is a slow fashion label that was founded in Berlin in 2012. All items are handmade and vegan and have already been seen on catwalks in New York, Paris and Berlin. FashionUnited spoke to founder Christine Rochlitz about sustainable material innovations, how Luckynelly was founded and the process, transparency and promises behind every...

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TômTex raises seed round to 4.15 million US dollars for shrimp fabric

New York-based sustainable biomaterial producer TômTex announced yesterday the closing of a successful seed round at 2.25 million US dollars, winning the support of Happiness Capital, who led the round, and key partners US-based venture capital firm SOSV, environmental non-profit Parley for the Oceans and MIH Capital. The company had raised 1.9...

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Cheers! Start-up secures 1.1 million pounds for leather-like material made from beer

There are no limits to the imagination when it comes to the search for sustainable textile innovations - bananas, squid genes and lately shrimps have all been tried and tested. Leather-like materials are especially in demand in the fashion and luxury industry. Now beer has also been discovered as such a potential alternative to leather, which...

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AlgiKnit secures 13 million US dollars in funding

Materials innovator AlgiKnit, which creates eco-conscious yarns from kelp, has closed a 13 million US dollars Series A funding round led by Collaborative Fund. The round was also supported by H&M Group’s investment arm H&M Co:Lab, Starlight Ventures, Third Nature Ventures, and features ongoing support from previous investors Horizons Ventures...

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New report highlights opportunities for next-gen sustainable materials

A new report titled “White Space Analysis 2021” by The Material Innovation Initiative (MII) - an accelerator of the development of next generation sustainable materials for the fashion, automotive and home goods industries - and investor and ecosystem builder The Mills Fabrica has identified next-gen materials that are set to follow alternative...