Material World: Innovations Take The Stage at Premiere Vision Paris

Alexandra Harrell
·5 min read

Material World is a weekly roundup of innovations and ideas within the materials sector, covering news from emerging biomaterials and alternative leathers to sustainable substitutes and future-proof fibers.

Evolved by Nature

Evolved By Nature's Advanced Silk, which the material innovator transforms into "pure silk in liquid form."
Evolved By Nature’s Advanced Silk, which the material innovator transforms into “pure silk in liquid form.”

Sustainable chemistry company Evolved by Nature has taken its sustainable leather finish solution, Activated Silk L1 Biofinishing System, to the next level.

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The Chanel-backed Boston-based innovator claims that Activated Silk offers an eco-conscious alternative to the harmful petrochemicals used in the leather finishing process. According to the group, it significantly reduces carbon emissions and polyurethane use, all while outperforming incumbent finishing systems and seamlessly integrating into tanneries’ existing infrastructure.

The biotech company’s green silk has been employed by heritage Italian tannery Faeda on a leather collection. Faeda is taking the lineup to the international trade show Lineapelle in Milan later this month to give attendees a chance to experience the PFAS-replacing technology in person.

“We have now fully industrialized the use of our chemistry at, frankly, an almost unlimited scale,” Dr. Greg Altman, co-founder and CEO of Evolved by Nature, told Sourcing Journal. “And we have validated the technology at the industrial production level with [Faeda] and a particular collection whereby we can now conclusively prove that, if you use the finish based on Activated Silk, not containing any PFAS or crosslinkers, we can replace essentially 2.15 grams of CO2 per square foot of leather coating.”

Evolved by Nature was also able to use the CFR wet veslic test—a tool that measures how many cycles the coating can go through before it breaks down. Leather treated with Activated Silk is nearly 250 percent higher than the average number of cycles typical petrochemical top coats can endure.

“We’re outperforming what’s on the market from a water resistance perspective and, with one of the most reputable tanners in the world, created a small collection where we’ve now shown it can be industrialized, not just for the most luxurious fashion houses and luxurious leathers, but also to support other needs of on-demand, readily available materials,” Altman said. “That’s the big deal to us; it’s been about four to five years of hard work.”

EverLoop

A bomber-style jacket with a high collar, zip front and ribbed cuffs and hem, made of Pact's "Oval," a leather-like alternative made from natural collagen. The jacket features a padded interior with BioPuff Wadding, developed by Ponda, enabling the large, vertically embossed "Positive Materials" letters with a 3D effect.
A bomber-style jacket with a high collar, zip front and ribbed cuffs and hem, made of Pact’s “Oval,” a leather-like alternative made from natural collagen. The jacket features a padded interior with BioPuff Wadding, developed by Ponda.

PDS Ventures, Positive Materials and Petratex revealed a “first-of-its-kind” partnership at Première Vision Paris: Everloop, a capsule collaboration co-designed between six material innovators.

Featuring Amphico, Materra, Pact, Ponda, Savian by BioFluff and Nature Coatings, the collection celebrates products made with regenerative and circular materials. The collective’s goal is to create a collection that “goes beyond traditional fashion” and inspires the next generation of designers while also challenging the industry’s status quo.

“Everloop reflects Positive Materials’ mission to accelerate the adoption of new materials across the fashion supply chain,” said Dolores Gouveia, Positive Materials’ creative director. “We are committed to building positive products and thrilled to collaborate with best-in-class innovators and supply chain partners.”

The capsule consisted of six collaborative pieces, integrating different technologies within the same garment through a combination of material, pigment and stitching. Amphico presented an “Amphitex” laminated woven parka and a woven jogging trouser, while Pact showcased an “Oval” jacket with Ponda BioPuff wadding. Savian by BioFluff also utilized BioPuff for an oversized sweater with embroidery and a matelassé sleeve. Materra and BioBlack TX by Nature Coating presented a coated fleece wave sweater and BioBlack TX by Nature Coatings presented a coated regenerative wool seamless T-shirt.

“We wanted to demonstrate that it’s possible to create garments that not only look great, but also have a positive impact on the environment and our society,” Irene Maffini, an investor at PDS Ventures, said. “Through extensive collaboration and countless experiments and the collective efforts of our innovators, Positive Materials and Petratex, we were able to cover all aspects of garment production, from the next-generation materials used in the outer shell of jackets to the plant-based insulation that helps restore ecosystems.”

Celys

A new commercially compostable polyester debuted at Premiere Vision Paris last week: Celys, the result of six-plus years of R&D that’s produced to tackle microplastic pollution and other ecological issues tied to the textile industry.
“If we can create a new polyester that truly biodegrades and makes textile-to-textile recycling easier, it could be a revolutionary solution to our status quo,” Wang said.

A new commercially compostable polyester debuted at Premiere Vision Paris last week. Celys, the result of six-plus years of R&D, was produced to tackle microplastic pollution and other ecological issues tied to the textile industry.

“Unlike some spinning-additive-based polyesters on the market, Celys fiber’s biodegradability starts from its proprietary ingredient formula for polymerization,” Helen Weng, the company’s sales director, told Sourcing Journal. “By introducing a third chemical monomer to participate in the polymerization process, we successfully created easy break-down ester linkages in the polymer backbone. Thus, a new polyester was designed.”

That’s to say, Wang continued, the biodegradability of Intimiti Australia’s polyester fiber starts from the polymer, which can not only be made into new fibers but also into bottles and films in the near future. Celys is a brand-new kind of polyester; its hydrophilicity in nature makes microorganisms easily attach to and grow on its surface, which imparts “outstanding biodegradability,” the R&D team said.

“In addition, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups into its molecules decreases its crystallinity, facilitates the penetration of water molecules into the inside of polymers and the hydrolysis processes,” the team continued. “The hydrolyzed products make the polymer even more hydrophilic, which further facilitates the growth of microorganisms on the surfaces. This mutual promotion process makes it be able to biodegrade completely in a much shorter time than hundreds of years for ordinary polymers.”

In fact, industrial composting testing at TUV Rheinland found that Celys demonstrated 95.4 percent compostability within 179 days. And, since the Celys polymer and fiber can be produced by using existing PET production facilities and readily available ingredients, scalability isn’t an issue for the new polyester.

“To create a compostable/biodegradable polyester fiber is just the beginning. Celys has also embarked on the research of bio-chemical recycling technology unique for textile wastes made with Celys polyester fiber,” Wang said. “Our purpose is to create a new polyester that can not only solve the microplastic issue, but also make it easier to build a genuine textile-to-textile circularity for polyester textile wastes and make it affordable.”