In the 21st century, with the increasing depletion of global petrochemical resources and the strengthening of environmental awareness in the consumer goods market, natural polymers with sustainable characteristics have become more and more important, and many raw materials are being transformed from chemical raw materials to naturally derived raw materials. The fashion industry, which accounts for 10% of total human carbon emissions, is second only to the petrochemical industry in terms of harm. As environmental issues become the focus of social concern, sustainable fashion will also be the wave of the new generation. The birth of some new materials, such as bio-based materials, is gradually replacing environmentally unfriendly petroleum-based polymers and becoming the favorite of major fashion brands.
In the context of the "dual-carbon" goal, the development of biobased materials is timely, biobased materials because of its green, environmentally friendly, resource-saving features, market demand is increasing year by year, and is gradually moving towards the industrial scale of practical applications and industrialization stage.
U. S. Biomass Technology Roadmap: Bio-based chemicals will replace 25% of organic chemicals and 20% of petroleum fuels by 2030;
The European Union's Industrial Biotechnology Vision: By 2030, biobased raw materials will replace 6%-12% of chemical raw materials, and 30%-60% of fine chemicals will be made from biobased sources;
Thanks to scientific and technological progress and policy support, bio-based materials are constantly moving towards high-quality and sustainable development. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD forecast, at least 20% (about $800 billion) of petrochemical products can be replaced by bio-based products in the next ten years, while the current substitution rate is less than 5% gap of nearly $600 billion. By 2030, the proportion of global bio-based chemical products is expected to reach 35%, bio-based materials industry will usher in significant development opportunities, future growth space is vast.
Some brands in various countries have already taken the first step:
1. Lululemon invests in sustainable materials producer Genomatica, collaborating on the first T-shirt made from plant-based nylon;
2. Nike launches a new collection, Nike Forward, which consists of 70% recycled content and also reduces carbon emissions by 75%;
3. ZARA launches a capsule collection made of Circulose material, which is made from 100% textile waste and is biodegradable;
4. Pangaia introduces a line of plant-based athletic apparel, Activewear 3.0 products made with 99.99% plant-based EVO® nylon and 30% plant-based creora® spandex fibers.
5. Moncler has launched a biobased down jacket with fabric, lining, buttons and zippers from castor seeds. The castor seed material can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30%;
6. Turbo launched a windbreaker with 100% PLA content on World Environment Day last year;
7. Banana launched a "Carbon Neutral Underwear" made of Lenzing Group's bio-based fabrics.
Sustainability is becoming one of the factors influencing consumers' purchasing decisions, and many brands are speaking with their products by launching plant-based products, e.g., Lululemon, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, and others. Compared to ordinary textiles, most of the fashion and bags made from bio-based materials are environmentally friendly and made from renewable materials. In addition to these advantages, bio-based materials also fulfill the requirements of a wide range of material choices and skin comfort. Therefore, with the growing awareness of environmental protection and the superiority of bio-based materials, many brands and designers in the fashion industry are focusing their attention on this, and have begun to experiment with the use of bio-based materials in the production of fashion, bags and decorative items.
For the huge fashion industry, in addition to the familiar brands, clothing and retailers, there are also companies that manufacture and sell fabrics, factories that make clothes, and professions that have something to do with fashion, such as models, stylists, hair stylists, make-up artists and photographers. Therefore, sustainable fashion does not only mean using environmentally friendly materials to make clothes.
Matter and energy are always transforming each other, and the protagonists of the great materials revolution of the last century were synthetic polymers based on petroleum and fossil fuels, led by plastics - an era that needs to turn the page in terms of the resulting negative impacts. After the transformation of new energy sources, the transformation of new materials will follow as a major revolution in manufacturing. This will not only affect the fashion industry, but will also permeate all aspects of people's clothing, food, housing and transportation.
To explore the "sustainability" of fashion, it is necessary to go back to the source of the problem. Led by cutting-edge biotechnology and material innovation, the exploration of natural resources and the development of raw materials are providing new possibilities for a "recyclable", "biodegradable" and "zero-pollution" future for the sustainable fashion industry. As "environmentally friendly materials from nature", bio-based materials can reduce the carbon footprint of industrial production processes by recalling the laws of natural cycles. At the same time, its biological properties and bio-intelligence provide a powerful source of support for the transformation of new materials.
Fashion brands and textile material producers have been exploring the field of bio-based materials for years, but it is still an emerging industry and many people lack a certain level of knowledge about it. The inherent bias against bio-based materials may be that they are fragile and not as stable as traditional textiles, but the stability of bio-based materials has advanced through continuous technological iterations and can be sewn and fabricated in the same way as traditional textiles; Others simply understand biobased materials as "environmentally friendly materials from nature" used to reduce the carbon footprint of industrial processes, but this is far from the true potential of biobased materials. The bio-based materials of the future may not only be "green", but also possess a wide range of excellent biological properties and bio-intelligence, interacting and growing with other life, and even responding to the surrounding environment. Driven by the gradual development and maturity of bioengineering, synthetic biology and other technologies, biomaterials are expected to replace traditional fossil-fuel-sourced materials, and to bring greater value to materials by giving them a vitality and intelligence that traditional materials do not possess.
