Fabric Innovation and Apparel Market: Which Is Driving the Other?

Herein, the perspective of a big player like Türkiye's  Orta becomes important. The company's Sustainability Chief Neslihan Sebla Önder agrees that material innovation has been driving the market for the last couple of years. Önder explains: "The debate on recycled poly-based materials and microplastic pollution, biodegradability, claimed carbon positive materials, etc, all these materials shifted the market from quality to material. The styles and trends are of course driving the fabric technologies as you need a level of performance for specific styles.

"But from the brands’ side, whatever the fabric specification is, a kind of recycled material in the fabric is demanded. In order to process these new innovative materials, mills like ourselves that does spinning as also invest in new spinning technologies and even increased the knowhow around it. So, maybe we can say innovation happened on the materials side and spinning technologies."

This would naturally lead one to ask: which factor would be driving the very business of fabrics in the coming days? Would NextGen materials be making an impact any time soon? Or will cotton, polyester and other existing materials like viscose, will still be dominating fabrics (and therefore, apparel)?

Cherish Brouwer, Co-founder and Creative Director of Netherlands-based Knitwear Lab, says. "We are dreaming of really smart materials, but for now we don’t see it yet. Let's keep on striving for innovation. With Knitwear (which develops smart technological applications for knitwear), we can already implement smart zones within an article, but this is just the start of what will be possible. We work closely together with designers, material developers and yarn suppliers to be the first ones to try out the newest developments for the industry and eventually for commercial use."

Sarah Meyers and Laura Fügmann of Meyers & Fügmann are fans of local wool. "It is a byproduct from meat production and mostly thrown away or sold as a cheap isolation material. We think that there is a lot of potential and that there is a need to create new value chains for this material. Since our work focuses on natural dye stuff, we need a natural material, preferably a protein fibre. An advantage of Nextgen materials is that wool is already an established fibre, where we already know a lot about its performance. Additionally—thinking of the postconsumer lifecycle—there are already industrial ways to recycle woolen textiles."

In the face of an evolving world, positive change becomes inevitable, believes Renana Krebs, Chief Executive of Israeli innovator Algaeing. "The upcoming generations, driven by a conscious and reflective mindset, are catalysts for this transformation. To remain relevant, companies, brands, and movements must align with the values of this emerging world. It's a world where embracing positive change is essential for relevance, and anything less becomes irrelevant. We firmly believe that with the right attitude and belief system ingrained in the new generation of companies and brands, we have the potential to create a significant wave of awareness and drive impactful change."

She concludes: "Our own focus lies in the creation of dyes and fibre derived from algae, aiming to minimise the negative environmental impact of the textile industry. By fostering a diverse range of brands and companies dedicated to this common goal, we can gradually diminish the reliance on polyester and other materials, making them less prevalent in the conversation.

"Through the growth of these innovative fields, healthy competition will drive the sustainability and affordability of NextGen materials, making them accessible to a wider audience. Through these collective efforts, we envision a future where NextGen materials are the rule and not the exception, therefore becoming the new norm."