Material Innovation Initiative news and archive

"We need these innovators and they need us": Highlights from the 2023 Material Innovation Conference

The Material Innovation Conference is an annual summit held virtually that invites textile industry figureheads from big business to startups to explore and assess the past, present, and future growth of sustainably-driven innovations. Organised in part by Material Innovation Initiative co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Nicole Rawling,...

Fashion Partner Content

For blue and clean oceans: Arch & Hook produces hangers out of ocean-bound waste

Arch & Hook is helping fashion and retail brands reach their sustainability goals by producing hangers, furniture and fixtures out of sustainable materials. BLUEWAVE® is Arch & Hook’s own thermoplastic material made from 100% recycled ocean-bound plastic, marine plastic and post-consumer plastic, collected predominantly from four of the most...

BusinessFeatured

Investments in next generation materials on the rise according to Material Innovation Initiative

A new State of the Industry report by the Material Innovation Initiative (MII) has stated that interest in next generation materials is continuing to grow, after it found that investments in the sector have risen to over 2.3 billion dollars since 2015. Next generation materials, or ‘Next-Gen’, provide brands with animal-friendly alternatives to...

Fashion Featured

5 Next Generation Materials and how brands are using them

As consumers continue to look towards more sustainable alternatives to synthetics and animal-based materials, new breeds of fibre have been continuing to make a mark on the industry. A new report released by the Material Innovation Initiative (MII), Brand Engagement with Next-Gen Materials: 2022 Landscape, has detailed the most important and...

BusinessPartner Content

MII Launches Virtual Material Innovation Conference May 18 & 19

Forager, MycoWorks, VitroLabs, Modern Meadow, NFW, Everlane and others partner with MII for the inaugural gathering of industry experts discussing the future of the material sectors To support the development and adoption of next-gen materials, the Material Innovation Initiative is launching the inaugural Material Innovation Conference. This...

Business

New report highlights opportunities for next-gen sustainable materials

A new report titled “White Space Analysis 2021” by The Material Innovation Initiative (MII) - an accelerator of the development of next generation sustainable materials for the fashion, automotive and home goods industries - and investor and ecosystem builder The Mills Fabrica has identified next-gen materials that are set to follow alternative...

BusinessFeatured

New Research Shows 90% of Chinese Consumers Surveyed Prefer Leather Alternatives Over Animal Leather

With nearly 20 percent of the world’s population and a fashion industry revenue expected to be 383 billion USD in 2021, or 44 percent of the global total, China offers incredible opportunities to those looking to invest in its rapidly growing markets. Not only are these markets growing quickly, but they are full of consumers that are evermore...

BusinessFeatured

Starting at the Start for Sustainable Fashion: The Argument for Focusing on Raw Materials

By now, anyone who’s paying attention to the fashion industry knows that we have an urgent sustainability problem on our hands. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, if we stay on our current path, the fashion industry alone will take up a quarter of the entire world’s carbon budget by 2050. To avert climate catastrophe, we’re going to...

Fashion Featured

How material innovation can change the fashion industry

The fashion industry is aware of the problems caused by some of the most commonly used fabrics and fibers - particularly those derived from animals. Groups such as PETA and the Humane Society of the United States have campaigned against animal-based materials for decades, promoting several brands and retailers to boycott harmful fabrics such as...

BusinessFeatured

What Fashion Can Learn from the Veggie Burger Boom

It is impossible to have missed the “veggie burger Renaissance” of the past few years. A decade ago, you would have had to travel to the most neglected corner of the grocery store to find a meat alternative, only to discover that a frozen mush of beans and carrots was the only thing on offer. Today, you can get an Impossible or Beyond Burger...

Fashion Featured

What fashion revolution is made of: embrace materials of the future

For years, consumer demand for sustainable, eco-friendly fashion has increased and every season we are seeing more and more new sustainable materials incorporated into product lines. Focusing on the sustainability of the raw material is critical. According to Kering, choice of raw material accounts for 72 percent of a brand’s environmental...