The 10th Future Fabrics Expo, held on the 28th and 29th of June in London, presented an extensive selection of commercially available fabrics to provide alternatives to conventional high environmental impact materials.

In addition, the expo showcased emerging and speculative fabrics and technologies in the innovation hub and curated area of solutions, which focussed on materials created from agricultural waste and other bio-based ingredients, as well as promoting plastic-free fashion and the integration of biodiversity preservation and regenerative agriculture practices.

The journey to circularity

The fashion industry has to drastically reduce the use of virgin oil-based synthetics such as polyester and nylon and one of the first steps is the adoption of recycled fabrics, as these are generally considered to have a lower environmental impact. While industry is increasingly adopting recycled synthetics, it must be noted that most of these are made from discarded plastic bottles and other plastic waste, rather than pre or post-consumer textile waste.

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