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Why innovative ‘bio‑materials’ are still more…

Science · September 1, 2026 · The Conversation · 4 min

Developing a new material is only the first step. Convincing an industry built around traditional textiles to adopt it is a very different challenge.

<a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/vegan-leather-sample-mushroom-mycelium-sawdust-1959372706">perfectlab/Shutterstock</a> </figcaption> </figure>

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jane-wood-318043">Jane Wood</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-manchester-1204">University of Manchester</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tom-bird-jones-2754888">Tom Bird-Jones</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-manchester-1204">University of Manchester</a>

Walk around any major fashion exhibition and you might get the impression that <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_lee_why_biofabrication_is_the_next_industrial_revolution">biofabricated materials</a> are about to transform <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/fashion-1850">fashion</a>. Grown using living organisms, they’re often showcased as the next generation of sustainable materials — promising <a href="https://pangaia.com/pages/leather-alternatives-grape-leather?srsltid=AfmBOorHPJXnKPCeiPIMp8TjpFJOvplaEN0WBZ_MTSjH21vRDHrpoTPx">alternatives to leather</a>, polyester and other conventional textiles.

This year’s <a href="https://paris.premierevision.com/en/">Première Vision Paris</a> international textile trade show highlights biofabricated materials as part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/sustainable-fashion-36369">fashion’s future</a>. It is showcasing innovations grown from fungi, bacteria and <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/bc/ganni-bou-bag">agricultural waste</a> alongside discussions about artificial intelligence and next-generation manufacturing.

This may give the impression that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics4010016">next generation of clothing</a> is just around the corner. Yet open almost any wardrobe and you’ll find the same fibres that have dominated for decades: cotton, polyester, wool and leather.

So why is there such a gap between the headlines and the high street?

It’s easy to assume the answer is cost. <a href="https://www.biofabricate.co/">Biofabricated materials</a> are often associated with <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/can-feathers-ever-be-ethical-stella-mccartney-is-betting-on-it">luxury fashion</a> and <a href="https://ideas.ted.com/the-skirt-and-shoe-made-from-kombucha/">concept collections</a>, making them seem out of reach for everyday consumers. Cost certainly matters, but is definitely not the whole story.

Developing a new material is only the first step. Convincing an industry built around traditional textiles to adopt it is a very different challenge. The science has moved faster than the fashion system it feeds into.

Research into biofabricated materials has accelerated rapidly over the past decade. Scientists can now grow sheets of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxsust.2025.100211">bacterial cellulose</a>, produce <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2023.e00724">leather-like materials from fungi</a> and <a href="https://www.fashionforgood.com/case-study/agriwaste-natural-fibres/">transform agricultural waste into fibres</a> with remarkable properties.

From a scientific perspective, these advances are extraordinary. But science alone doesn’t put a new material into people’s wardrobes.

Every new biofabricated material enters a world in which existing textiles have already been refined over decades, and in some cases centuries. Leather has been optimised through generations of tanning and finishing, while cotton has benefited from continuous improvements in spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17569370.2023.2196158">Polyester has been engineered</a> to be durable, affordable and easy to manufacture at enormous scale.

<figure class="align-center zoomable"> <a aria-label="Zoomable image" href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/755406/original/file-20260821-50-9eh5oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="woman with dark hair, pins fabric to mannekin" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/755406/original/file-20260821-50-9eh5oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/755406/original/file-20260821-50-9eh5oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=186&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755406/original/file-20260821-50-9eh5oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=186&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755406/original/file-20260821-50-9eh5oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=186&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755406/original/file-20260821-50-9eh5oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=234&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755406/original/file-20260821-50-9eh5oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=234&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755406/original/file-20260821-50-9eh5oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=234&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a> <figcaption> Innovation alone won’t put new materials into people’s wardrobes. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-casual-attire-upcycling-clothes-2477264421">LightField Studios/Shutterstock</a> </figcaption> </figure>

<a href="https://www.materialsource.co.uk/25-biomaterial-and-waste-based-products-to-specify-in-2025/">New biofabricated materials</a> are often – unrealistically – expected to compete immediately with all of that. But growing a material is only the beginning. They then need to be dried, coloured, finished, tested, manufactured consistently and produced at a scale that global fashion brands can rely on.

Mainstream fashion manufacturers need repeatability – the same material, colour and performance every time. Living systems don’t always behave like that. Small changes in growing conditions can produce different outcomes, creating challenges that don’t exist with established synthetic manufacturing.

As with conventional textiles, sustainability depends on the entire life cycle of a material — not simply where it originated. “Bio” doesn’t automatically mean <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20220330-why-bio-and-green-dont-mean-what-you-think">environmentally friendly</a>. Many biofabricated materials still require <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/663ce4648cdbf24a1fa5567d/t/697b90b1893e675caee33ccc/1769">chemical treatments, coatings or additional processing</a> to achieve the durability and performance consumers expect. Others rely on energy-intensive manufacturing or solvents to convert raw materials into usable fibres.

<figure class="align-center zoomable"> <a aria-label="Zoomable image" href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/755405/original/file-20260821-50-ebvq91.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="fashion designer sat at cluttered desk with samples of fabric" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/755405/original/file-20260821-50-ebvq91.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/755405/original/file-20260821-50-ebvq91.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755405/original/file-20260821-50-ebvq91.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755405/original/file-20260821-50-ebvq91.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755405/original/file-20260821-50-ebvq91.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755405/original/file-20260821-50-ebvq91.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/755405/original/file-20260821-50-ebvq91.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a> <figcaption> Most fashion designers rarely get the opportunity to handle or design with biofabricated materials. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fashion-design-materials-selection-concept-525827791">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a> </figcaption> </figure>

<h2>Bridging the gap</h2>

Perhaps the <a href="https://www.fashionforgood.com/report/scaling-next-gen-materials-in-fashion-an-executive-guide/">biggest challenge facing biomaterials</a> isn’t the science. It’s the gap between the laboratory, the designer, the manufacturer and, ultimately, the consumer.

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