This year, a sudden outbreak sounds the environmental alarm for the heavily polluted fashion industry once again. If we consider Fashion Convention jointly signed by 32 fashion enterprises in August 2019 as a start of whole industry making efforts to carry out large-scale sustainability, radical environmental groups outside of the A/W 2020 four fashion weeks, and environmental protection creativity in the show, have highlighted designers or brands passion for fashion environmental protection and a sustainable future.View more: https://www.popfashioninfo.com/trends/material/

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Key Words for A/W 21/22 Eco-friendly / Sustainable Material Trend

2. This year, a sudden outbreak sounds the environmental alarm for the heavily polluted fashion industry once again. If we consider Fashion Convention jointly signed by 32
fashion enterprises in August 2019 as a start of whole industry making efforts to carry out large-scale sustainability, radical environmental groups outside of the A/W 2020
four fashion weeks, and environmental protection creativity in the show, have highlighted designers or brands passion for fashion environmental protection and a
sustainable future. Environmental/sustainable fashion has become a common topic and a new trend in the international industry. Then, as the second most polluted
industry and the source of the fashion industry -- textile fibers and fabrics, how to jointly build a sustainable eco-friendly system through sustainable design, production and
reuse, is an important direction for the sustainable development of the fashion industry in the future. The three key words for A/W 21/22 eco-friendly / sustainable material
trend will give you a glimpse into the future of sustainable fashion fabrics.
Overview

3. Ethical Fashion

4. With the increasingly serious problems such as environmental damage, toxic chemical waste and animal injury faced by the fashion industry, more and more people begin
to notice the cruelty and seriousness of this problem. In order to obtain luxury and expensive natural animal fur and wild silk fiber, harming wild animals in nature will lead to
the complete imbalance of the earth's environment. Ethical fashion is used to promote ethical fashion design, production, retail and purchasing process. Starting from the
source, starting from the fiber, protecting animals, protecting the environment, and promoting sustainable and ethical production are the important things that every fashion
insider needs to think and do.
Ethical Fashion

5. The world has been searching for a cruelty-free alternative to silk fibers, since many consider it unethical to extract whole silk fibers directly from the cocoons of living
larvae. Inspired by spider silk, Bolt Threads uses a DNA sample that mimics spider silk proteins, converts the DNA into yeast, ferments it into silk powder, and dissolves it
into a spool to extract the required long silk fibers. The debut of the sustainable material attracts a $230 million investment for Bolt Threads. Bolt Threads has also formed
partnerships with fashion brands such as Patagonia, Best Made and Stella McCartney. Compared with traditional silk, spider silk fiber has a soft touch, excellent draping
feeling and high tensile strength, as well as good insulation and antibacterial function. And its key processing link is simpler and more eco-friendly.
Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Spider Micro-yarn Fiber

6. Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Traceable Elastic Wool

7. Luxury fabrics such as wool, cashmere and mohair have many advantages, including the environmental credential. Animal fiber is naturally warm, breathable and moisture-
proof, and is superior to a variety of synthetic fibers in terms of environmental protection. In pursuit of sustainability, brands like BOSS implants the traceable wool to fabrics,
uses elastic merino wool double-layered fabric to make the lining (In the past, spandex fiber was added to stretch fabrics), so the clothing will be more ergonomic, which is
also gradually valued by formal wear brands. Traceable wool refers to the wool used for the fabric can be traced back to its origin and precisely to the sheep on the farm
where the wool was collected. In addition, all traceable wool must be collected from sheep in a non-pressurized environment in a humanitarian manner, and the practice of
mutilation is prohibited, which highlights the protection of animals. Merino wool is one of the most traceable wool certified by ZQ (the highest standard in the world).
Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Traceable Elastic Wool

8. Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Vegan Leather

9. The demand for leather and fur continues to grow in the fashion market every year. But after 40 years of anti-fur campaign, more and more people are beginning to pay
attention to the protection of natural animals, and designers are also seeking a sustainable and environmentally-friendly leather fabric. Vegan Leather, which means that
leather manufacturing technology ushers in a new environmentally-friendly material, vegetable tanning material. This alternative leather can meet the market demand, and
protect all kinds of wildlife in nature. The vegetable tanning material are sustainable, breathable and durable. From the nature, Tjeerd Veenhoven studio can currently
extract vegetable tanning agents such as chestnut, eucalyptus bark, palm leaf, banana and other natural green plants.
Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Vegan Leather

10. Data show that every year water waste, oil consumption and air pollution in the textile fabric production is quite serious. In addition, half of the earth's growing waste plastic
is made up of non-biodegradable materials, causing great damage to the oceans and the ecological environment. It is imperative to promote green recyclable design in
fashion industry. Recyclable design means all resources in the design process can be continuously reused in different forms instead of being wasted, so as to realize reuse
and recycling a closed chain. Although the fashion cycle design is still in its infancy, green innovation road through the recycling system to invest in new environmentally
friendly/sustainable fabrics of the future will dominate.
Green Recycle

11. Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Green Denim

12. Denim, which originated in the United States, has long been considered as a fabric with a natural disadvantage. From cotton fields to cotton and to washing machines, an
average pair of jeans typically consumes 3,480 litres of water, making it one of the most water-consuming and polluting fabrics. In addition, the United States alone
produces 13.1 million tons of textile waste each year, 11 million tons of which end up in landfills. When Levi Strauss & Co. teams up with textile technology company Evrnu
SPC to turn five discarded old cotton T-shirts into a pair of Levi's 511 slim tapered jeans, billed as the world's first recycled cotton jeans, the denim gets greener. The green
denim fabric made from recycled cotton not only saves about 98% of the water, but also reduces the waste of fabric and clothing. It is worth mentioning that in late February
this year Italian denim brand Diesel launches a group of new series called as Creative Regeneration.
Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Green Denim

13. Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Zero-waste Recycled Leather

14. "73% of the world's clothing ends up in landfills, with less than 15% being collected and recycled." according to Global Fashion Agenda, a nonprofit that promotes
sustainability in the Fashion industry. That's a pretty striking statistic. The moment that Recyc Leather TM returns to S/S 2021 Paris Premiere Vision with the unique
recycled Leather means that the waste leftover leather that would otherwise have been buried or burned will be incorporated back into the fabric design process and get
reused. This zero-waste production is also the key to the closed-loop future of fashion.
Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Zero-waste Recycled Leather

15. Plastic is a product of our era. Plastic bags, PET bottles and so on have invaded the earth's ecosystems, especially in the oceans. According to statistics, nine million tons of
plastic debris are added to the oceans each year. In response to this problem, recycling them to replace native polyester (which consumes a lot of oil) is the best
environmental solution. Aquafil, an Italian man-made fiber company, develops the recycled fiber, which was initially called Econyl 70 because only 70% of its material came
from recycled plastic. But with continuous improvements, Econyl, the recycled nylon, now is fully made of recycled plastic, which is mainly from used carpets, landfills and
marine waste. Adidas, H&M, Prada, Gucci and Napapijri all use the recycled nylon yarn, Econyl, to their products.
Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Recycled Nylon

16. Plant Gifting

17. Whether it is for the reason of sustainable closed-loop design, or to save energy to use wood pulp or seaweed to make textile recycled cellulose fiber, it is a cooperation
with nature and a gift of plants from nature. And this gift is natural, biodegradable and recyclable. It's a natural resource that brings more value and makes the product more
distinctive. Fashion products naturally made will no longer be a luxury, but a market must to solve energy consumption and a necessity to respond to fashion closed-loop
design.
Plant Gifting

18. As the fashion industry looks for natural plant-based dyes to replace traditional toxic and harmful chemicals, the growing interest in natural plant-based dyes has been
raised by environmentally-friendly dyes derived from natural plants. Vegetable dyestuff is an environmentally-friendly process for dyeing yarns with bark, roots, leaves,
flowers and other natural dyestuff. The hand-made natural two-color melange yarn has a plain and granular appearance. It can be said that this natural and
environmentally-friendly vegetable dye is one of the best gifts given by nature.
Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Eco-friendly Vegetable Dyed Melange Yarns

19. Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Biodegradable Alginate Fiber

20. With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, the traditional synthetic fiber is not only oil-consuming, but also non-renewable, so countries all over the world
are researching and developing other degradable fiber to replace it. A UK-based company, Vollebak, has designed its latest alginate T-shirt. Algae designer, Violaine Buet,
was inspired to develop a renewable algal fungus textile. The algae fibers give the fabric a special pattern on its surface, which will be more visible with LED lights. Algae
fiber is a fully degradable fiber, so it is very friendly to the environment. All the clothes made from algae fiber can be degraded into fertilizer within 12 weeks, so as to
effectively realize the recycling of resources.
Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Biodegradable Alginate Fiber

21. At present, with the population explosion, the ecological environment is destroyed, and the forest area on the earth is gradually reduced. Trees can not only protect the
earth from desertification, but also provide a natural source of renewable cellulose fiber - wood pulp. Lyocell is a natural cellulose fiber from wood pulp. Google searches for
the fibre increase by 190% in the US and 60% in the UK. It is not only environmentally-friendly and harmless to the human body, but also 99% less water-consuming than
cotton. Underprotection, a swimsuit and underwear brand, is the first to integrate Lyocell yarn and milk fiber into the research and development of home underwear.
Eastman's Naia product is made from cellulose diacetate compounded from wood pulp of pine and eucalyptus. Compared to Lyocell, it is breathable, quick-dry, cool, zero-
waste, hypoallergenic and degradable. It is also more comfortable than cotton and nylon. Both Lyocell fiber and Naia are the representative regenerated cellulose fibers of
sustainable closed-loop design.
Representative Fiber & Fabric -- Regenerated Cellulose Fiber