Fashionistas take heart! As people and industries abandon archaic practices in the face of climate change, we aspire towards a cutting-edge eco elegance. These are the materials we’ll be wearing in 2030.
If we can imagine ourselves into 2030, in a future where we’ve not only listened to but acted on climate science, we can look forward to a world – and an economy – that prioritises the planet. When it comes to the fashion industry, the most important changes that have to be made are those that move us away from materials derived from fossil fuels, as well as those from the animal industries. These changes are entirely possible, and we’ve already got some exciting examples of the more ethical and sustainable fabrics that will become our fashion norms in the future.
ANIMAL LEATHER ABANDONED FOR LUXURY ALTERNATIVES
On top of the injustices faced by living beings in the leather supply chain, the leather industry is responsible for massive greenhouse gas emissions. The production of just one pair of leather boots releases 66 kilograms of carbon equivalent emissions into the atmosphere, nearly 57 kilograms more than synthetic leather boot production, according to Collective Fashion Justice’s CIRCUMFAUNA initiative.
Rest assured, sustainable remedies are afoot! While still fringe to the fashion industry today, materials such as Desserto’s cactus-derived leather alternative; Fruit Rotterdam’s landfill-destined, mango-based leather alternative; and circular, waste-reducing, recycled synthetic leather will all be worn widely by 2030. These materials are already being used by forward-thinking accessories brands like Sans Beast, LUXTRA, and A_C.
Perhaps what’s most exciting though, is the development of 100 percent plastic-free leather alternatives, such as Natural Fiber Welding’s Mirum, which is completely plant-based, and Bolt Threads’ Mylo Unleather. Mylo is made from mycelium, the branching system connecting fungi that’s normally found below ground, even helping different plants interact. Mushroom farms grow vertically and are land-efficient, meaning that a turn towards mycelium leather and a turn away from cow skin leather would result in far more land that could be made available for rewilding. This would boost biodiversity and result in the much-needed sequestration of carbon (this means it is securely ‘sucked in’ and stored long term). Just like cow skin leather, mycelium is tanned into its final form, but this is done without the use of the toxic chemicals that make conventional tanning operations massive polluters.
Currently, Mylo is only available for a handful of supporter brands to use for sampling and small runs, namely Adidas, lululemon, and Stella McCartney. However, by the end of 2022, for the first time, Mylo will be ready for production at a significant, commercial scale. The first publicly available Mylo product will be pairs of iconic Stan Smith sneakers from Adidas. And by 2030, even small, independent designers will be using the material for their sustainable creations.
From left to right: A_C, Monica Belt Bag in cactus leather, $249; Sans Beast, Petite Smuggler in recycled eco PU, $199; Adidas Stan Smiths in Mylo leather, in design.
BEYOND WOOL (AND EVEN COTTON)
Produced within a cruel and unsustainable system, wool as we know it is also extremely harmful to our climate. Making a single Australian wool jumper produces about 27 times more emissions than it does to make an Australian cotton knit, with cotton also being about 367 times less land inefficient than wool, according to CIRCUMFAUNA.
But while cotton has many benefits over wool, especially when grown more sustainably, the future of knitwear, suiting, and warmer clothing will need to be more inventive to clothe us all in an environmentally beneficial way. Today, alongside sustainably sourced cotton, we’re seeing a promising rise in knitwear made from hemp, bamboo lyocell, Tencel (derived from farmed eucalyptus trees and processed in a closed-loop system), and even recycled ghost nets recovered from the ocean. These fabrics are already being used by (not yet 100 percent plant-based) brands like ARMEDANGELS, Eileen Fisher, and Kings Of Indigo. There is little doubt these materials will continue to be worn into the future, with some exciting newcomers joining our wardrobes by 2030, too.
AlgiKnit, a company led by environmentalist and vegan values, is currently working to replace both synthetic and wool yarn with an alternative made of kelp. Farming kelp can help to rebuild both economic and ecological communities harmed by overfishing and pollution, with both humans and non-humans benefitting. A wide array of sea birds, mammals, and underwater species are supported by kelp forests. What’s more, scientific estimates published in Nature Geoscience suggest that macroalgae like kelp may remove around 181 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year – that’s about equal to the annual emissions of the entire state of New York! While AlgiKnit won’t be widely available in the immediate future, it’s one we can look forward to in years to come.
Another material to keenly await cosying up in is Spinnova. Making its debut at the 2021 New York Fashion Week, Spinnova is a circular material made from wood or waste, in what the Finnish company calls the world’s ‘cleanest process’, free from harmful chemicals.
Boasting the stretch and strength of cotton, as well as the insulation capacity of wool, this biodegradable and sustainably sourced material has been made into a proof-of-concept knitwear collection by independent, cutting-edge brand Ka Wa Key. The fashion debut of this material was highly celebrated, and it’s only onwards and upwards from here.
Ka Wa Key Proof of concept capsule piece using Spinnova
THE WORLD WILL FINALLY BE FUR FREE
While a fur-free 2030 can’t actually be promised, the seemingly endless stream of high-street and luxury fashion brands, as well as local councils, cities, and entire countries that are banning the sale of fur and fur farming itself gives us very reasonable hope. An inhumane industry that’s also a major zoonotic disease risk, fur production is also inherently unsustainable. In fact, producing just one kilogram of mink fur for the sake of fashion is, at 110 kilograms of CO2e emissions, equal in impact to driving a car for more than 1,250 kilometres.
While for a long time the only alternative to fur has been virgin plastic, this won’t be the case in 2030, and we’re already moving past this today. London-based label jakke creates gorgeous faux fur coats from recycled plastic bottles, while House of Fluff and Stella McCartney make use of bio-based fur, like KOBA, created by ECOPEL. KOBA faux fur is made of a partially plant-based polymer, resulting in 63 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional synthetic faux fur, which was already about six times less impactful than mink fur.
ECOPEL says KOBA is their “strongest sustainability effort to meet the criteria of the International Panel on Climate Change’s target of a 45 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030”. As they and other innovators continue to explore and evolve their creations, there’s no doubt that by 2030 the fashion industry will be full of planet-friendly designs. That’s good news for those of us that aspire towards eco elegance.
ECOPEL, KOBA faux fur swatch
Images, from top: Sans Beast, A_C, Adidas, Ka Wa Key, ECOPEL • Cover image: Adidas Stan Smiths in Mylo leather
