NEXT-GEN materials
An urgent response
In February 2025, Fashion for Good and Boston Consulting Group published the report “Scaling Next-Gen Materials in Fashion,” which analyzed the slow progress of adopting innovative and sustainable materials in the textile sector, focusing on denim.
Currently, they represent only 1% of the materials used, but by 2030, this could reach 8%, but unlocking this growth requires investment, stable demand, and collaboration between companies in the sector.
Analyzing the report, next-gen materials are defined as innovative fibers with greater sustainability, performance, and functionality. So, what are these new sustainable fibers?
Of all the fibers, recycled cotton stands out as the one with the greatest potential. Widely adopted by companies like AGI Denim, Candiani, and Orta , it is now considered almost mainstream. Even luxury brands have been using it for some time. However, some critical issues persist: inferior quality compared to virgin cotton , difficulties in traceability , and limited availability of post-consumer raw materials , as most of them still come from production waste.
Tencel Lyocell is a decidedly more sustainable fiber than traditional viscose. It is already used in denim, but to a limited extent. The reason? It alters the aesthetics of the fabric , making it softer and sometimes too shiny, far from the traditional stiffness and opacity of raw denim , particularly appreciated by enthusiasts.
Orta has developed denim fabrics made from hemp grown without pesticides, fed only with rainwater, and processed without the use of harmful chemicals . Despite its high sustainability, the market has been quick to demand a recycled version of the fiber, demonstrating a tendency to chase novelty without fully leveraging existing solutions.
The report also includes elastane among the next-generation fibers, recognizing its contribution to the comfort, fit, and durability of jeans . New bio-based versions, such as Coreva developed by Candiani, offer a better environmental profile but are struggling to penetrate the market due to high costs and limited production capacity .
Moving into the field of dyes, the French startup Pili Bio has collaborated with Orta to develop a biotech indigo capable of reducing emissions by 50% compared to the petrochemical variant, without technical production challenges. However, even in this case, the high cost is holding back its diffusion. Startups face great difficulty in scaling up production without concrete financial support , despite offering responsible solutions.
To overcome the obstacles hindering the large-scale adoption of innovative materials, it is necessary to address some of the sector's structural criticalities. The high cost of sustainable raw materials is a major challenge, compounded by unstable and under-consolidated demand from brands. Added to this is the lack of effective de-risking tools, which are crucial for supporting the industrialization of new solutions. Collaboration between innovators, manufacturers, and brands is also often fragmented and insufficient.
To truly facilitate the transition to a more sustainable system, it is therefore crucial to develop standardized technical specifications for new materials. This would significantly reduce research and development costs, and targeted regulatory support could accelerate the market integration of these innovations.
Adopting new sustainable fibers is not a utopia, but an urgent response to the consequences of climate change already impacting the textile supply chain. Changing the fashion system means building an integrated ecosystem based on innovation, collaboration, strategic vision, and entrepreneurial courage . Only in this way can we address the environmental and social challenges that fashion can no longer ignore.
Source: Scaling Next-Gen Materials in Fashion, Issue 15, Inside Denim.