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Draper makes a strong case for the natural fiber. "Wool, the first performance fiber, is making a resurgence not just for its inherent values, like its excellent insulation properties but now for its sustainability story and its bonus features like being, naturally anti-microbial and naturally biodegradable." Parkes believes that "we are just at the tip of the iceberg" in terms of eco-textile innovation. "ere is not enough recycled poly in the world to switch all poly (to recycled) so we need to find other solutions. at's what we are all working on," commented Parkes. "ere is a long way to go and it will be exciting. ere is not one true solution." Concept III and its partners are making progress. "For Fall '23 we have a large program where we have added three percent recycled textile waste into a fleece fabric from Kingwhale's pilot plant in Japan. e waste is textile scrap, shearing waste and also garments and we were able to produce 50 tons of recycled waste chip." Parkes explained, "We need to get to 50/50 up from that three percent. A waste stream exists." But how do we move the needle? According to Parkes, lower the price, build a bigger plant, and the industry needs to make recycled textile waste a priority. Parkes added, "It will take time. Will we get there? I hope so." For Hyosung, multi-functional polyester and nylon are now available in recycled versions. Recycled spandex, and an increasing focus on bio-based innovation are top of mind. "It's been a race to recycled, and to a certain degree a clear route on the map exists; bio-based is a new path," said Whitmarsh-Knight. e company launched its bio-based creora spandex last year. e product uses 30 percent renewable resources and has 23 percent lower carbon emissions. e industry has eyes on "regenerative" as the next step in the journey to circular textiles. "People have jumped onto regenerative, however there is a lot of misinterpretation of the word," commented Whitmarsh-Knight, who mentions that the Savory Institute is introducing Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) as a way to give a metric against a regenerative claim. CHALLENGES ON THE HORIZON When asked if "eco performance" textiles are the future of the industry, Polygiene's Björk responded, "I still believe that the biggest issue is not eco performance materials or sustainable materials, even if that of course is important too. e biggest challenge as I see it, is overproduction and overconsumption. is is by far more important to address than only focusing on materials and sourcing. To prolong the lifetime of everything that is produced – this is the solution to reach the global goals of decreasing the carbon footprint of the world." Björk continued, "As an ingredient brand and a technology company, we believe that chemicals can contribute a lot to a product's lifespan. Polygiene Freshness technologies is a great example of how we enable consumers to participate in the mission of consuming and protect clothing from over washing. An LCA that we recently ran with Sweco, a leading European engineering consultancy, we can prove that the environmental benefits by far outweigh the small costs to add our technology into a fabric." Another major hurdle for the industry is agreeing on what sustainability means. A plethora of certifications, organizations and eco-experts have emerged in recent years resulting in more confusion than clarity. Execs suggest that perhaps the time has time for consolidation around a few key topics, whether its garment recycling or chemical impact or regenerative. A collective decision on how to invest in the infrastructure needed would loosen some of the current bottlenecks, provide industry-wide direction and speed innovation. A growing sentiment among textile suppliers is that if the industry is confused about what sustainability means, then the consumer has no chance. n 46 • March/April 2023 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com DESIGN: OUTLOOK 2023 MATERIAL SUPPLIERS AGREE THAT FUNCTIONAL FABRICS MADE FROM SUSTAINABLE, RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND MANUFACTURED RESPONSIBLY ARE THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY. HOWEVER, CHALLENGES STILL EXIST, AND PERFORMANCE REMAINS KEY.

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