Enabling innovation: the future of materials

Repurposing industry to restore natural systems is not only an artistic endeavour. The UN Climate Technology Centre & Network(CTCN) asserts that “carbon-sink and low-carbon building materials and products offer a key mitigation option from the building sector while contributing to social and economic development, especially in developing countries.” Crucially, however, innovative ideas need to be supported by awareness-raising, incentivised market schemes, labelling regulations, and policy changes in order to be incorporated into mainstream thinking. 

Mushroom cultivation, for example, offers a way to grow alternative sustainable materials. Blast Studio in the UK has developed a method using 3D printing with mycelium that results in buildings designed to feed people. The mushrooms are biodegradable, fire-proof and also sequester carbon. 

Mycelium can also be processed to produce Mylo, a leather-like material for the fashion industry. Fashion alone was responsible for approximately 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2018. It uses  93 billion cubic metres of water a year, enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people. Around 20% of all global wastewater comes from fabric dyeing and treatment, with a majority of “fast fashion” being incinerated or ending up in landfills, causing additional carbon emissions. 

One of the most promising trends for the fashion industry is the transition from linear to circular models of production and consumption. Ka-Sha is a small luxury brand from India that has embraced the ethos of reduced waste with its Heart to Haat programme. Creative director Karishma Shahani Khan explains that upcycling materials from landfills “is a simple act of innovating within what is available and finding new ways to create functionality with them”.

Ron van de Wiel, founder and CEO of Blue LOOP Originals, has taken a similar approach to salvaging materials from incinerator waste dumps. Mr de Wiel suggests limits to the number of garments that can be produced or imported, explaining that it is “not healthy to produce 25 billion garments each year”, favouring support for regional upcycle initiatives and increased restrictions on exporting waste as a way to change how business is done: “We need less, and better.” These companies have proved the marketability of responsible fashion, but more support is needed to increase awareness and further grow the concept.