AW 25-26 decodings: Sustainable Fabrics The 10 July 2024 - Automne-Hiver 25-26 - Fabrics

The fabrics of the AW 25-26 season shape the future, from the fertile lands of fiber cultivation through to the manufacturing stage. Excellence today is as much about creative genius as it is about innovative, reduced-impact solutions.
Environmental and social challenges require going beyond the status quo to embrace an innovative vision that covers the multiple stages of a product’s life cycle, from its origin to its end-of-life.
Exception, creativity and conscientious sustainability catalyze concrete actions to build a better future.

Grounded traceability

The quest for excellence in fiber quality goes hand in hand with identifying its origins.Information is collected at the source, from cultivation methods to breeding conditions. In order to offer a positive carbon impact, regenerative agriculture is being developed for cottons and wools, with companies like Materra®, Good Earth Cotton® and Regenagri implementing crop and pasture rotation and agroecological techniques to enhance soil carbon storage, soil fertility and biodiversity preservation. Elsewhere, European linens display the European flax™ and Masters of linen™ certifications to attest to their premium provenance and quality, while from merino to cashmere, livestock farms are audited to guarantee good farming practices and respect for animal welfare.

Artificial cellulosic materials are traced down to the parcel of land to offer a guarantee of non-deforestation, or they are brought to life through the recycling of pre- or post-consumer textiles.

Integrated physical markers, fiber component analyses such as Oritain, digital platforms, these innovative tools for fibers authentication and data security support the industry’s traceability efforts.

Conserving ressources

From the choice of fibers to their processing, the focus is on preserving resources, with the industry exploring alternative materials and production methods to reduce its environmental footprint.

Polymers derived from renewable resources such as corn, castor oil and sugarcane are replacing hydrocarbons in synthetic and protective textiles and are being used in fibers or finishes to combine technical and environmental performance.

Innovation draws on the richness of plant life, with Spiber Brewed Protein™ protein fibers developed in the laboratory through the fermentation of natural ingredients, or with technologies like Colorifix®, which replicates the DNA sequences of pigments found in nature.

Cutting-edge technologies are exploring the capturing of CO2 from steel mills, to transform these gas emissions into new-gen polyester.

Materials derived from co-products of the agri-food industry continue to develop, helping to diversify supplies and reduce pressure on arable land.

Spinning, weaving, knitting and finishing techniques minimize energy consumption, reduce the dispersion of microplastic particles and eliminate the use of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). The inherent protective, climate-adaptive and natural stretch properties of plant and animal fibers are enhanced to limit the use of petrochemicals. For Autumn-Winter 25-26, faux furs and fleeces are offered in 100% wool, 100% cotton or bast fibers.

For a wide range of shades and qualities, vegetable dyes offer a good alternative to petrochemical dyes, meeting today’s expectations in terms of solidity, color reproducibility and subtlety of hues.

Optimizing circularity

Sustainable circularity in the textile industry starts with the quest for longevity. Choosing quality materials from the design stage helps prolong the lifespan of products. This involves using long fibers, strong yarns, dense weaves and knits as well as stable finishes and embellishments.

With the aim of increasing textile-to-textile recycling, technology now offers second-generation fabrics that are on a level with virgin fibers in terms of quality. Techniques for refining recycled cottons are also evolving at Säntis textiles™ to deliver long recycled fibers without using water or chemicals. Synthetics are also making progress, as withTex2Tex™, a closed-loop textile-to-textile polyester recycling process. The cotton-like feel and fiber quality obtained at the end of this recycling process are highly promising. The choice of compositions is just as crucial in an approach that anticipates and promotes recyclability. Right from the creation of the material, having a cellulose-rich content throughblends of cotton fibers with flax, hemp or lyocell is a good basis for optimizing chemical recycling and developing new cellulosic materials.