The future of fashion is lab-grown

Written by Ilman Ramadhanu | Read in Indonesian

Environmental sustainability has become somewhat of a trend in the fashion industry. Many brands and designers are now racing to come up with the most cutting-edge and innovative solutions to make the fashion industry more environmentally-friendly.

It is no wonder though, since fashion is still one of the largest global polluters. There are plenty of factors within the fashion industry that contribute to this, from the practice of burning deadstock fabrics or unsold goods to exhausting non-renewable resources, but one of the biggest reasons is the use of hazardous materials. Materials like polyester, viscose, or nylon that virtually exist in each of our clothes are one of the biggest culprits in fashion’s environmental havoc.

This has led the fashion industry to combine creativity and science in the hope of finding textile innovations that could act as a substitute to these toxic materials.

Mushroom leather

Leather-like fabric made out of fungi is the latest innovation from the fashion industry to minimise the use of real animal leather. Companies like MycoWorks, Mylo and Bolt Threads have come up with a way to turn mycelium, fibres from the root structure of mushrooms, into a fabric that replicates the look and feel of real animal leather while possessing the same strength and durability.

The leather industry has long been deemed to be problematic, and there is an obvious reason why. Apart from having to kill animals to extract the skin, the leather industry requires an extensive animal rearing which, according to PETA, has been linked to massive deforestation and excessive production of gas emissions. Not only that, the process of turning skin into leather is also bad for the environment, specifically during the tanning process.

In that process, animal skins are scrubbed clean from any bacteria or fibre to stop the skin from decomposing and subsequently dyed. This process produces a huge amount of toxic chemicals, including chromium-related pollutants that are often released into local waterways and consumed by the locals, and if accumulated could lead to respiratory problems and an increased chance of lung cancer.

Even synthetic leather presents its own set of environmental damage. Commonly made out of plastic-based materials like polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), synthetic leather also produces a huge amount of toxic chemicals during manufacture and requires years to decompose.

The emergence of mushroom leather is seen as a game changer in sustainable fashion. The production of mushroom leather is far less damaging to the environment. In an interview with Fast Company, MycoWorks claimed that while a pair of leather shoes emits 33 pounds of carbon dioxide, the production of mushroom leather is carbon-neutral, meaning that it emits the same amount of carbon dioxide as it removes from the atmosphere.

The mushrooms that are required to create the leather are grown into a foamy layer in a controlled indoor setting with a certain level of humidity and temperature. Sawdust and organic materials are fed to the mushrooms until they are ready to be harvested. Within a couple of weeks, the mushrooms would be ready to be harvested and subsequently are processed and dyed into ready-to-wear leather.

The leftover materials from the manufacturing process can be composted and re-used to start the process all over again; a huge difference from the leather industry that requires massive non-renewable resources.

Mushroom leather made its debut in the fashion scene when Hermes collaborated with MycoWorks in creating a luxury handbag called “Victoria” in 2021. Stella McCartney, known for its anti-animal product policy, also debuted its luxury handbag made out of mushroom leather in collaboration with Mylo during the spring/summer 2022 show.

Image: Stella McCartney in collaboration with Mylo

Bio-based synthetic fibres

Synthetic fibres like polyester or nylon, are one of the most commonly used materials in the world. Vox reported that today, almost 60% of the material that makes up our clothes are synthetic fibres. This poses a severe environmental concern and it is mainly due to the fact these synthetic fibres are made out of plastic.

These plastic-based materials shed countless microplastics during its lifetime. Microplastics take hundreds of years to decompose and if accumulated could pose physical and toxicological threat to the environment, particularly the ocean.

The New York Times reported that scientists have estimated that 9.25 to 15.86 million tons of microplastics are currently at the bottom of our oceans and 35% of that number originated from synthetic fibres. Microplastics contamination from clothing most often occurs during the washing process where waste water containing microplastics is channelled into local waterways and eventually ends up in the ocean.

Not to mention that synthetic fibres are made using non-renewable fossil fuels, like petroleum – though this issue has somewhat been temporarily solved by the fashion industry by promoting the use of recycled plastic. In 2020, Adidas announced that they will start producing their shoes using only recycled plastic. While the use of fossil fuels could substantially be reduced, these recycled plastics still shed toxic microplastic into the environment.

A crucial step in dealing with this issue was taken when biotech company Kintra Fibers announced that they have developed a bio-based and completely biodegradable synthetic fibre made out of sugar that replicates the versatility of polyester, nylon and spandex.

This bio-based synthetic fibre is made using the same technique to create regular synthetic fibre, which is through a series of melt-spinning processes. But instead of using petroleum, this fibre is made using sugar that is derived from corn and wheat.

According to Kintra, this bio-based synthetic fibre produces zero microplastic since it possesses the ability to naturally degrade in an aerobic composting environment. Meaning that as long as there is a free flow of oxygen, the clothes that are made using this bio-based synthetic fibre could be composted.

The company is currently working to launch a clothing collection using bio-based synthetic fibres in collaboration with lifestyle brand Pangaia. According to Pangaia’s website, the collection is expected to be released soon.

What to expect next?

With all these cutting-edge innovations, it is becoming more evident that the future of fashion will come straight out of the lab. However, chances are we still have to wait a little longer until these sustainable fabrics are readily available for mass consumption.

Mushroom leather currently still exists only as a luxury item, which is quite problematic given that in order for these sustainable fabrics to have a substantial impact on the environment, they need to be accessible for everyone from any economical background.

The cost of mushroom leather is still higher than real or synthetic leather, but as Forbes reported, it will expectedly go down as soon as production volumes rise.

The radical solution to the microplastic issue that Kintra’s bio-based fabric promise is still nothing more than just a promise. As reported by Fast Company, Kintra and Pangaia are still developing their technology and figuring out how the fabric will perform.

While we wait for these lab-grown materials to be more than just an experiment, the key to solving the environmental issue that the fashion industry creates still lies in the hands of its consumers to limit their carbon footprints.