Here is a round-up of the latest in fabrics and fibers – from denim and vegan leather to functional materials.


Coffee-leftovers clothes? Yes, please!
The North Face is launching “Glacier Pack,” a new outdoor hiking apparel collection inspired by three women hikers–Lucy Walker, Daisy Voog and Beatrice Tomasson. This collection, while celebrating women, is made with S.Café’s sustainable fabrics obtained from transforming coffee remains into a functional and comfortable fabric with moisture wicking and cooling effects. It includes T-shirts, Bermudas, shorts and windproof outer jackets.

Why cactus doesn’t sting
Cacto is a Mexican vegan accessory brand founded by entrepreneur Jesus Chavez and made with specially treated dried cactus leaves. This material comes from organic certified cactus plantations and is raised without herbicides and pesticides so  that all the remaining organic cactus material not used in Cacto’s manufacturing process is exported and sold nationally in the food industry. Developed by young Mexican entrepreneurs in the state of Jalisco, cactus leather is made from fields entirely watered with rainwater and according to a regenerative pruning process. When the time comes to cut mature leaves, the plant is left undamaged to enable repeat harvesting. Then the leaves are sun-dried in an open sky solarium and not through electric drying panels.

The accessories are produced by artisans in Mexico and sold through the brand’s website cacto.green. A wallet’s average price is US$155.

Through a partnership with On A Mission, a Swiss nonprofit organization, the company is also involved in a sustainable reforestation worldwide project.


Paper is the future–and the past
For s/s 2021, Japanese technical apparel brand Goldwin is launching Paper Fiber Socks, a product made from eco-friendly paper fiber obtained by combining high technology and Japanese craftsmanship. Goldwin will also soon launch a full apparel range made with this fiber according to the Japanese traditional material “Washi,” a traditional thin, durable and long-lasting paper with a story of about 1,400 years and recognized as one of Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage. The raw material used for paper fibers is environmentally friendly as it is biodegradable and the plant from which the fibers are extracted will grow back in two to three years.

Goldwin has combined a paper thread adding more softness to paper that is naturally stiff. Together with its supplier partners, it also developed an effective weaving method and a fiber that is five times stronger than the synthetic yarn used for sport socks, is lightweight and has natural moist-absorbing properties only obtained through the unique rough texture of the paper fiber.


Recycling has No Name
For summer 2021 No Name has launched a new responsible capsule by offering revisited versions of some of its iconic sneakers. Its Flex Ripple jogger shoes, for instance, have their uppers made from a patchwork of recycled denim pieces or in a knitted mesh version made from recycled plastic bottles.
How sustainability gets sexy
Heist, a British underwear brand, has launched The Eco Lace Collection, as part of a series of initiatives meant to reduce its environmental impact. The new offering has silhouette-enhancing styles designed from 100% soft-touch recycled and recyclable lace, and sheer eco-mesh. Its materials include a lace made from 100% recycled polyamide, a mesh made with recycled polyamide and 14% elastane, and a new and recycled cotton mix.
Brugnoli rides fast
Brugnoli, a Made-in-Italy manufacturer of circular knit fabrics for ready to wear, sports, swimwear and lingerie, has just launched its new Brugnoli Cycling Collection, a selection of 70 fabrics for cycling apparel. The new options include eco-sustainable fabrics made from bio-based polyamide, recycled polyamide, polyamide with enhanced biodegradability and made according to the eco-sustainable patented production process Br4 with low water and energy consumption.

Brugnoli was also recently granted with the ZDHC - Roadmap to Zero certification that adds to other company and product certifications including GRS, RWS, Oekotex Standard 100 and a double international patent for its Br4 eco-sustainable production process.


Say Saye
Saye is a 100% Made-in-Portugal sneaker brand. Its M89 Vegan Colores Collection shoes are made from Corn Vegan Leather, a new PETA-approved leather substitute from renewable resources obtained from non-food and GMO-free corn crops. Their inner lining is made entirely from bamboo, a fast-growing, self-generative and sustainable option. Its removable insole is made with 60% recycled polyurethane foam from automotive leftovers and 40% Polyurethane foam, the outsole is made from a 30% natural and 70% synthetic rubber mix and its laces are from certified organic cotton. For each sold pair the brand plants two trees. So far it has planted almost 150,000 trees, mostly in Zambia, but also in India, Australia and the in the Amazon. The company aims to reach over 200,000 trees planted by the end of 2021.


Carbon fiber’s next challenge
AB Tech Lab Srl, a young Italian start-up that studies and develops fabrics from natural and mineral fibers, has just developed a 100% carbon fiber fabric. Although this fiber is normally rigid, the company managed to produce a fabric out of carbon that keeps intact carbon’s properties like lightness and high-tenacity. Carbon fiber has also fireproof, thermo-regulating, anti-bacterial and breathability properties. It is also recyclable.

AB Tech Lab also offers ABMergex, a mix of various fibers including steel, silver and copper. This fabric’s surface can be customized with a client’s logo thanks to the use of jacquard weaving and its fiber mix.


Betting on made to measure
Berto, an Italian denim manufacturer, is launching “Su Misura,” a new service aimed at young designers, start-up brands and companies focused on producing smaller quantities or other small fashion, interior, kitchenwear and accessories. The company offers fabrics and premium materials to be ordered without minimum quantities through its own virtual showroom.


Inside graphene
Technow is a rib of the over-60-year-old Italian textile manufacturer Lazzati. It was founded by Fabio Lazzati and his sons to develop innovative textiles. Its most recent projects include “Graphene Inside The Future,” a series of products that transpose the use of graphene into yarns, fibers, membranes, paddings, down-effect materials and many others.

According to Technow, graphene's multiple applications and properties convey common textile products unique characteristics without altering their normal composition like, for instance, thermoregulation, anti-bacterial and anti-static properties.

The graphene used by Technow has bio-based origins as it derives from the carbonization of corn production waste. Therefore, according to the company, its environmental impact is very low.


Met Jeans throws a hope seed
Met Jeans has just launched Met Organic, a capsule collection offering various fit jeans all made with cotton grown organically, and according to sustainable practices. The cotton it uses for this collections come from fields cultivated according to rotation rhythms and uses low-environmental-impact methods. The capsule is also characterized by a special hangtag describing the details of the project and enclosing a few OGM-free seeds. This way, consumers are involved in an eco-friendly experience as they can plant the hangtag directly.



READ ALSO:

The Materials

How LVMH wants to save the forests

Read more →

The Materials

How Knotwashing undoes the stonewashing knot

Read more →

The Materials

Artistic Milliners' new supply chain traceability project

Read more →

The Materials

Tom Ford launches $1.2 million award to fight thin-film plastic

Read more →