Material Innovation Initiative to wind down operations

Material Innovation Initiative (MII) has informed stakeholders that it has made the decision to wind down its operations. In a letter from the organisation’s directors it was stated that the move, made by the board of directors and the executive leadership team, comes following “thorough evaluation and much deliberation”.

Since its founding in 2019, MII has positioned itself “at the forefront of transforming the next-gen materials industry”, pursuing the mission of accelerating the development of such products across multiple sectors. While noting its achievements over the past few years – namely “inspiring over 2.31 billion dollars in investments into next-gen materials” – MII stated that the landscape of the industry had changed “dramatically”.

Now no longer a niche sector, with 141 companies dedicated to next-gen materials, according to MII, the organisation said that the industry was “well-positioned” to continue advancing towards a more sustainable future “without the direct involvement of MII”. With this, director and president of MII’s board of directors, Jacqueline Kravette, added that as the MII moved into its “next chapter”, it continues to encourage the engagement and support of the industry, stating that this was “crucial to maintaining the momentum we have built together”.

Much of the progress made by the Next Gen materials sector – which refers to alternatives of animal-derived and polluting materials – has been documented in recent years through MII’s regular reports. Through these, the initiative has previously outlined both increases in brand and innovator collaborations – over 380 collaborations were reported in 2023 – and an uptick in investments into such materials.

While there have been setbacks in the sector, sometimes due to the lack of interest or funding – the most notable being the halt in production of mycelium-based leather alternative Mylo – MII has continued to emphasise the importance of such products, particularly in the way of increasing consumer demand. This was reiterated in its May 2023 US Consumer Research Report, where it was found that 90 percent of surveyors were open to purchasing such materials.