The article details the difficulties faced in developing sustainable alternatives to plastic-based materials in the fashion industry, focusing specifically on the production of plastic-free leggings. It emphasizes the complexity of replicating the performance and quality of synthetic lycra using bio-based materials.
A key point is the crucial role brands play in scaling up sustainable innovations. The article highlights the need for brands to invest in and support the development of eco-friendly materials to overcome challenges related to cost, availability, and scale. Without this brand investment, innovators bear significant risk.
Several examples illustrate this point, such as Orta’s collaboration with Agolde and Pili on bio-based indigo dye, facing initial setbacks but eventually succeeding through perseverance. Another example is Under Armour's commitment to developing plant-based stretch fibers, aiming to launch a marketable product within two years.
The article argues that collaboration across the supply chain is vital for scaling up elastane-free solutions. Amanda Johnston, from the Future Fabrics Expo, points out that the industry's reliance on petrochemicals remains substantial, even with some adoption of recycled fibers. She stresses the need to move beyond the fast-fashion model that prioritizes the cheapest materials, advocating for a more level playing field for sustainable producers.
Under Armour's strategy to launch a limited-edition sustainable collection, while aiming to eventually offer sustainable products at a comparable price and quality to their conventional offerings, serves as an example of a brand navigating sustainability and commercial viability.
Overall, the article underscores the significant hurdles and opportunities present in creating plastic-free alternatives for fashion, emphasizing the importance of brand investment, supply-chain collaboration, and a shift away from unsustainable practices in the pursuit of a more eco-conscious industry.
Orta had spent six months testing and trialling the concept, after Lycra approached the mill. Orta sales and marketing director Oktay Okuroglu says that, in most cases, innovators approach the mill or manufacturer first, as modifications and process changes are commonplace in new fibre production. “Once we had achieved the same result in performance and quality as [synthetic] lycra, I approached Amy,” he explains.
The mill’s partnership with Agolde and French dye company Pili on a bio-based indigo dye was a two-year project, and more complicated than the Lycra fibre. For that collaboration, it was Agolde who approached Orta for further R&D. “The first result was terrible,” Okuroglu notes. “The shade wasn’t right, but everyone persevered.”
For Yulex’s Bui, overcoming challenges of cost, availability and scale comes down to a single action from brands. “Invest!” she urges. “Brands want innovation, but few invest to help innovations succeed, scale and commercialise. Innovators take most or all the risk.”
“Brands want innovation, but few invest to help innovations succeed, scale and commercialise. Innovators take most or all the risk.”Amanda Johnston, curator at Future Fabrics Expo, agrees that the only way innovators and early-stage developers can scale their elastane-free solutions is through collaboration across the supply chain, specifically with brands. “Two-thirds of global fibre demand is still made from petrochemicals,” she says. “Even though there has been some take-up of recycled fibres by the industry, we’re still not seeing anywhere near enough of that — and they’re the lowest hanging fruit. We’re still stuck in the fast fashion model, a race to the bottom where the cheapest material wins. There isn’t a level playing field for those producers doing things the right way.”
For SS26, sportswear brand Under Armour will debut Neolast, a stretch fibre made from a type of recyclable thermoplastic and developed in collaboration with US tech and chemical company Celanese. But Eric Liedtke, executive VP of brand strategy at Under Armour, wants to take the stretch innovation further. “We haven’t figured out how to do that high-stretch, rebound compression [for performance wear] from a plant-based solution yet, but there are innovation pipelines. In two years, I hope to have an innovation in my hand that we can start planning to go to market with in a meaningful way,” he says.
In April, the brand launched a limited-edition capsule collection with sustainability collective Unless, comprising hoodies, T-shirts and shorts, which it claims are 100 per cent plant-based and compostable. “You’ve got to send out a statement of intent, build awareness and an audience, and then start to scale — because it can’t always be a premium proposition,” says Liedtke. “Consumers shouldn’t have to sacrifice their taste for their values, nor their values for their taste. So we have to give them something that’s at the same level, quality, durability, performance and aesthetic at the same price.”
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