The Material Innovation Era: How Fashion and Furniture Are Being Redefined

What once seemed like science fiction is now hitting shelves and showrooms: sneakers made from mycelium (in other words, the "root" system of a fungus), handbags and shoes made with a compostable plastic alternative, bamboo-based leather alternatives, silk grown through fermentation and protein engineering… the list goes on.

Image via @ecoage | Instagram

These are signals of a seismic shift in how materials are being designed, sourced, and scaled.

Yet, some still see real sustainability as a lofty ideal — or worse, as greenwashing in disguise. But, these innovations prove things are not so pessimistic.

Because the truth is, change is not only happening, it’s accelerating. As one pannel theme at the 2025 Future Fabrics Expo put it: “Don’t tell me climate action isn’t happening.”

What’s more, this wave of innovation isn’t confined to fashion.

These material breakthroughs are showing up everywhere, from home design to industrial products, crossing over into all kinds of industries.

That’s because today, material innovation is not being perceived only as design or aesthetic choice, but as a systems-level strategy and a powerful driver of business growth.

And the frontrunning brands are reimagining value by aligning it with what today’s consumers actually care about.

Keep reading to explore this cross-sector movement — and the opportunities it unlocks for forward-thinking creators and businesses.

From Wardrobe to Living Room: Why the Shift Is Happening

The demand for sustainable design isn’t new , but its meaning is evolving.

What once focused on individual “eco-friendly” products has expanded into a more full-circle, lifestyle-driven expectation.

Today’s consumers are no longer just buying things — they’re buying into values.

According to McKinsey, 75% of Gen Z consumers say sustainability matters more than brand names when making purchasing decisions.

At the same time, NielsenIQ reports that 78% of global consumers now prioritize living sustainably — not just shopping that way.

In other words: sustainability is no longer a just product feature; it’s a cultural shift reshaping how people define quality, identity, and desirability.

And it’s a mindset evolving into everyday choices, from clean beauty to ethical food systems, conscious fashion to responsible homeware.

This shift is generational, behavioral, and deeply values-based. As Bo Finneman of McKinsey notes, new generations are redefining what drives engagement:

They’re looking beyond tangible products and actually trying to understand… what’s its mission? What’s its purpose?

And we’re seeing this values-driven shift ripple across industries — with fashion and furniture among those being redefined.

They're already linked through their use of textiles and fabrics, but now they’re aligning even more closely through sustainability, because consumers are beginning to see that caring about what they wear doesn’t align with ignoring what surrounds them at home.

Materials, ethics, and consumer behavior are starting to speak the same language — and brands need to stay tuned into this cultural shift.

Fashion and Furniture Are Learning From Each Other

Fashion and furniture have long mirrored each other aesthetically—think boucle jackets echoed in boucle sofas, or the quiet luxury of velvet eveningwear reflected in lush velvet armchairs.

Image created using generative AI (ChatGPT by OpenAI)

But today, this exchange goes far deeper than surface textures.

The United Nations Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) reports the fashion industry contributes around 10 % of global greenhouse gas emissions

According to The Local News, a 2024 report pointed that over 12 million tons of furniture are deposited into our landfills each year in the U.S.

At the core of both problems? A shared dependency on virgin materials, fossil-fuel-based synthetics, and legacy chemical processes like toxic dyeing and finishing.

As global sustainability regulations tightened and environmental accountability risen across design industries, fashion - in part because of how quickly it produces and how directly it faces consumer scrutiny - began experimenting earlier.

In response, throughout recent years, forward-thinking brands, entrepreneurs, and innovators within fashion have piloted new approaches, like the ones mentioned early in this article.

The industry at large is far from sustainable, but these early experiments have created a rich library of insights.

Now, the furniture world is exploring how those learnings might be adapted and applied.

Take Sabai Design, for example — a standout innovator in furniture sustainability.

Sabai’s model shows how sustainability can be embedded from the inside out.

From non-toxic fabrics and FSC-certified wood to U.S.-based ethical manufacturing and a circular design system with replaceable parts, the company is rethinking every layer of how furniture is made, used, and kept in circulation.

Image via @sabai.design | Instagram

Founder Sophia Cohen captures Sabai’s ethos:

Make furniture for a generation that prizes sustainable shopping—without sacrificing affordability or convenience.

Their approach echoes some of fashion’s most valuable lessons: that conscious design isn’t just about material swaps, but about building systems that support longevity, adaptability, and care.

Just as fashion’s shift toward circularity led to rental, resale, and repair platforms, Sabai is carving out a similar path for interiors — one that centers usability without creating more waste.

A Brand Pioneering Material Innovation for Fashion and Home Design

If fashion and furniture are two dialects, material innovation is becoming the shared language. And it’s evolving fast.

From mushroom leather to regenerative wool, there’s an explosion of new textile possibilities. But few materials have captured the fashion-furniture crossover potential quite like BioFluff.

Image via https://bio-fluff.com.

Created using plant fibers and biotechnology, BioFluff is the first fully plant-based and biodegradable alternative to animal fur.

It offers the softness and warmth of traditional fur without the ethical and environmental baggage.

The fiber’s structure is strong enough for furniture and refined enough for high-end fashion — a rare combination that unlocks new creative potential for brands looking to scale circularity.

BioFluff has already been embraced by avant-garde designers and eco-luxury fashion labels.

In fact, it has partnered with interior design studio AIfunghi to launch a sustainable home collection, showcased during the 2025.

Photo credit: Aifunghi, featured on Dezeen.

The good news for brands? Next-gen sourcing platforms are making it easier to access these breakthrough materials.

World Collective is one of them, designed to help small, medium, and large brands source verified, future-forward textiles.

That’s why BioFluff will soon be available on WC's Marketplace. Stay tuned to our platform and socials for the launch — and keep reading to dive deeper into the future of material innovation.

The Opportunity for SMEs

Historically, small and medium-sized fashion brands have been locked out of material innovation —not for lack of interest, but because the system wasn’t built for them.

High minimum order quantities, complex lead times, unclear sourcing channels, and limited access to testing all add up to a landscape where only the biggest players could afford to take risks on next-gen textiles.

And that comes even harder when we talk about sustainable collection production or sustainable sourcing.

As Aasia D'Vaz-Sterling, Expert in Fashion Innovation and Fashion Design Technology, stated:

To even the established brand, sustainable sourcing is a daunting task, to the micro brands, that task is even more daunting, because they are left with having to accept things at face value or needing to go elsewhere.

It’s a frustrating reality — but one we’re finally seeing shift. In fact, Aasia’s article suggests there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

In “How Virtual Fabric Sourcing Is Opening Doors for Emerging Designers and Micro-Brands”, she highlights how digital tools are beginning to democratize access to sourcing.

As she puts it, “micro-brands relying on third-party tech to operate like established players should feel optimistic. The growing platform economy is finally treating them as real consumers with real needs.”

This is a powerful shift. For the first time, emerging designers and independent brands are being seen not as peripheral players, but as a vital part of fashion’s future, with unique needs, creative potential, and serious market power.

This mindset also has been echoing loudly at recent fashion events, like Berlin Fashion Week, in which one of it’s materials boldly stated: “Emerging fashion designers are not on the fringes of the industry — they’re reshaping its very foundations.”

Platforms like World Collective are helping make this mindset a reality, with virtual fabric sourcing tech-solutions like the ones mentioned by fashion expert Aasia.

Building the Backbone: How World Collective Enables Scalable Sourcing

Material innovation won’t transform industries unless it scales. And scale requires infrastructure.

Too often, innovations stall at the prototype phase—not because the material doesn’t work, but because the sourcing ecosystem around it doesn’t support adoption.

In an article about Gucci’s “Circular Hub” initiative, Kering’Kering's Daveu emphasized that circularity requires action at every stage of the value chain, including investment in research, innovation, and infrastructure for traceability

The holy grail for sustainability in fashion is closed-loop sourcing,

World Collective addresses that gap by building a digital ecosystem for sustainable sourcing. That includes:

• Verified, low-impact material listings (like BioFluff)

• Transparent supplier profiles across regions

• DPP integration readiness

• Order and sample management tools

• Ongoing educational resources for buyers

This infrastructure is what turns innovation into action. It’s what helps niche materials become mainstream solutions.

A Future Built on Shared Materials

The next frontier of sustainable design shouldn't be confined to showrooms. It needs to be about unlocking the full potential of materials across categories, lifestyles, and systems.

As fashion and furniture continue to speak the same language acrross material innovation, the smartest brands are those that see material innovation not as a trend, but as a design and sourcing strategy.

World Collective exists to make that strategy accessible, especially for the brands who haven’t always had a seat at the table.

With partners like BioFluff joining the Marketplace, we’re making it easier than ever to bring next-gen materials into your product pipeline.

Ready to explore BioFluff and other low-impact materials? Visit our marketplace and discover the future of sourcing today.

Written by Maria Eugênia Lima, Junior Digital Content & Social Media Producer at World Collective