Which innovative textiles or fabrics interest you?

Which innovative textiles or fabrics interest you?

Whether you are shopping for new clothes online or in a mall, you probably always come across clothing made from the same materials: polyester, cotton, nylon, wool, leather...

If you are looking for eco-friendly alternatives to those, the clothes you may be picking might be made of linen, organic cotton, recycled polyester or hemp.

But how many times did you find a clothing item made from pineapples, cacti or bananas? How about textiles made with mushrooms or algae?

Yes, all of those alternatives do exist! Not only are they very innovative and unique, but they are also great sustainable options!

You might have never come across any of these fabrics yet, but more and more brands have started using them to create eco-friendly products.

Why are these fabrics innovative and sustainable?

All the fabrics we are mentioning in this article are fascinating discoveries that, in one way or another, are made more sustainably.

Many of them are made using by-products of certain industries, meaning that products that would have been discarded are turned into brand new fabrics. It reduces waste and does not increase the demand for new resources to be extracted from the Earth.

The production process of these innovative fabrics is also generally gentler for the planet. For instance, it may use a lot less water and fewer chemicals than most conventional fabrics. It may release fewer CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.  

Some of these fabrics are recycled textiles, and others are artificially made in a lab. Although a few of them are partly produced with synthetic materials, they are overall a lot more sustainable than synthetic textiles.

No matter which one you want to try, you can feel good about buying one of these innovative fabrics!

1) Apple leather

Apple leather is a bio-based material made using apple by-products from the juice industry.

When apples are pressed to create juice, we are left with apple pomace and peels. Those by-products contain a lot of cellulose content, which is great for producing new fabrics!

To do so, apple pomace is reduced to a powder, and once it has been processed, it is combined with a synthetic material, polyurethane. The final result is what we call apple leather.

Apple leather is soft and durable, and has a much lower environmental footprint compared to cowhide leather. It is often used to produce shoes and small accessories like wallets or handbags.

Allégorie, Oliver Co., Veerah and Samara are a few brands using apple leather to design beautiful, sustainable products.

2) Leaf leather

Leaf leather is a plant-based leather alternative made from tree leaves (generally Teak leaves). It is strong and water-resistant, and the leather features the natural design of leaves, making it unique and beautiful.

To produce leaf leather, fallen Teak leaves are collected and no trees are harmed to do so. The leaves are soaked in water, dyed and laid flat together to dry.

The drying process bonds them, which leaves us with a large sheet of leaf material that is then mended with cotton fabric. Before it can be sewn into accessories, a thin BOPP film is applied to make the fabric waterproof and more durable.

Tree Tribe and Jungley both create cool wallets, bags and journals out of leaf leather.

3)Mushroom leather

Mylo, or mushroom leather, is a vegan leather alternative developed by the company Bolt Threads and designed to have a minimal environmental impact. It is made from mycelium, which is the branching underground root system of mushrooms.

Bolt Threads uses mycelium cells and makes them grow on beds of organic matter in a vertical farming facility that is 100% powered by renewable energy.

Together, the cells form an interconnected 3D network that is then processed by the company. It is tanned and dyed, transforming it into a leather-like material.

Mylo is soft, supple and durable, which makes it ideal to use in the fashion industry. Sustainable brand Stella McCartney recently launched a bustier top and trousers that are the first-ever garments made from Mylo.

4)Pineapple leather

Pineapple leather, or Piñatex, is an innovative natural textile made from pineapple leaf fiber, which is an agricultural waste product.  

When pineapples are harvested, their leaves are collected and the long fibers are extracted with special machines. After they are washed, the fibers are dried and they go through a purification process to eliminate impurities.

The fluff-like pineapple leaf fiber that is left is mixed with a corn-based polylactic acid and transformed into a non-woven mesh called Piñafelt. Finally, the Piñafelt is colored using GOTS-certified pigments and coated with a resin made from polyurethane to make it even more durable and waterproof.

Piñatex has been used by over 1,000 brands, including Svala and No Saints. The company that manufactures Piñatex, Ananas Anam, is a certified B Corporation.

5)Orange fiber

Did you know that each year, 110 to 120 million tons of citrus waste are generated around the world? An Italian company, Orange Fiber, decided to do something about it and created a sustainable fabric made from orange juice by-products.

To produce orange fiber, the company uses hundreds of thousands of tons of orange waste. It extracts the cellulose from the peels using its patented process and turns it into a fiber that is spun into yarn.

Then, it is woven into a silk-like fabric that is soft and lightweight. It can also be shiny or opaque depending on the final use.

Italian luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo launched in 2017 a capsule collection of women’s wear made from citrus by-products in collaboration with Orange Fiber.

6)Banana fiber

Used since the 13th century, banana fiber is an eco-friendly fabric that has been slowly but surely revolutionizing the fashion industry.

Banana fiber is made from a banana tree’s stems and stalks. The stems are actually a by-product of the banana tree because they are generally discarded when the fruits are harvested, which can only be done once in the tree’s lifetime.

There are different production methods, but the most usual one involves stripping off the sheaths of the banana stem, layer by layer until we are left with only the fibers. Then, the fibers are dried, and finally, they are knotted together using a twisting technique.

If you are looking for clothing made of banana fiber, Milo+Nicki and Valani have everything you need.