Sea Change

Over half the oxygen humans breathe originates from oceans now receiving a container-load of plastic waste every minute, with 94% sinking to fragment invisibly. Seaqual Initiative was founded in 2016 by textile industrialists who recognised that beach cleanups wouldn't address degradation at scale. Through strategically positioned recovery points in Tunisia, Mexico, Egypt and Vietnam, the operation has collected 1,000 tonnes of marine litter.

A new era of textile innovation is unfolding, driven by digital tools, material transparency, and collaborative thinking. At the heart of this transformation is Mijke van Ballegooijen, CEO of Byborre, whose platform challenges conventional production and design systems. She explains how empowering creators and rethinking supply chains can reshape the industry’s creative and environmental future.

Amsterdam-based Makers Unite places creativity at the centre of social transformation, repurposing materials into meaningful design while empowering diverse communities. Creative Commercial Manager Ambrose Jude shares how inclusive practices, sustainable craftsmanship, and storytelling can reshape fashion, shift perceptions of migration, and open new pathways for dignity, opportunity, and authentic connection across cultures.

CircularFabrics is tackling one of synthetic fashion’s toughest challenges—recycling nylon from blended waste—through its pioneering Nyloop technology. Unlike conventional methods, Nyloop preserves polymer integrity without high energy input, offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative. CEO and Co-Founder Josephine Mayer explains how this process could help brands meet EU circularity goals while building scalable, decentralised recycling systems.

The future of fashion isn’t synthetic. It’s natural. It’s regenerative. And The Sheep Inc brand embodies and symbolises ideas from a carbon-negative supply chain, premium merino wool garments and regenerative farms to that word which is at the core of many debates in the fashion world: transparency.

1994. Pioneers yet outliers in an industry focused on conventional resources, a materials science company, developing and commercialising circular economy technologies using industrial and consumer waste streams from the fashion, food, and forestry sectors, is today hoping that consumer awareness and regulatory pressure will trigger collaborations between scientists and designers, leading to responsible material solutions. The face of the Tex2Tex RPET division and COO of Vancouver-based Earth Protex, Samuel Goldstein shares a journey that began decades before sustainability or material science would become buzzwords.

Working at the intersections of farming, leather and fashion, Alice Robinson and Sara Grady founded British Pasture Leather (BPL) to reshape entrenched perceptions of leather and forge the disconnection of this natural material from its source: farms, land and animals. The co-founder duo share how they embarked on their remarkable journey from field to fork and fashion.

Tersus Solutions, founded in 2009, supports a wide variety of needs by leveraging its proprietary CO2 platform that preserves water and electricity, sanitises or sterilises, captures contaminates and microfibres, and ultimately extends the life of textiles. Steve Madsen, Founder and CTO, and Peter Whitcomb, CEO, speak at length about how the future lies in technology.

Pili has a mission—it produces decarbonised alternatives based on renewable resources for sustainable industrial applications. Pili President Jérémie Blache explains how Pili uses hybrid processes combining industrial fermentation and organic chemistry to manufacture sustainable, high-performance colour ranges for the textiles industry.

Taiwan-headquartered Creative Tech Textile Co Ltd has pioneered the transformation of discarded oyster shells into advanced sustainable textile solutions leading to its signature brands—Seawool and Smawarm. Founder Yeh-Shun Wang (Eddie Wang) shares how through decadal inspirations and learnings his company is doing its bit to shape a greener and more sustainable future for the textiles industry.