This week, Stella
McCartney unveiled the
world’s first bio-based faux fur — the result of a collaboration with global
faux fur textile and apparel manufacturer Ecopel and
DuPont Biomaterials — as part of her Summer 2020 collection.
The new Koba® Fur-Free Fur by Ecopel is made with recycled polyester and up
to 100 percent DuPont™ Sorona® plant-based
fibers,
creating the first commercially available faux furs using bio-based ingredients
Koba — the collection of which ranges from classic mink styles to plush,
teddy-style fur — can be recycled at the end of its long life, helping to keep
ensure it never ends up as waste and closes the fashion loop; something that
McCartney is passionate about, as she pushes toward circularity. It’s 37 percent
plant-based Sorona material means that it consumes up to 30 percent less energy
and produces up to 63 percent less greenhouse gas than conventional synthetics.
“We’ve been working with Stella McCartney for several years and we have clearly
been positively influenced by her values,” Ecopel CEO Christopher Sarfati
said in a
statement.
“Not only are we proud to offer animal-friendly alternatives to fur, but are
even more proud to take the road less traveled in designing new ways to create
faux fur. From recycled to bio-based, we are supporting a transition toward more
sustainable materials.”
Created by Ecopel, whose faux-fur creations also include a collection made from
recycled
plastics,
KOBA® integrates 70-100 percent DuPont Sorona polymer homofilament fibers to
offer a soft, versatile and long-lasting fur alternative; and the first
commercially available faux fur using bio-based ingredients. A prototype of the
first onyx black KOBA® Fur-Free Fur coat with Alter-Nappa detailing was revealed
exclusively at the Summer 2020 show, on model Natalia Vodianova.
Image credit: Stella McCartney/Facebook
As McCartney said in a statement, “I am incredibly excited about this new
eco-friendly, bio-based Fur-Free Fur. It is another big step toward the future
of fashion being sustainable and animal free.”
“Stella McCartney has led the industry that is now increasingly moving away from
the use of animal-based furs, and this collaboration allows both her
cruelty-free and sustainability values to go hand in hand,” Renee
Henze, Global Marketing Director
at DuPont Biomaterials, said in a statement. “With KOBA® faux fur, we expect to
see the use of bio-based materials gain even greater use and acceptance in the
textile and fashion industry.”
According to DuPont, in addition to its energy- and GHG-saving properties, Sorona’s benefits include:
-
It is also recyclable — whereas acrylic plastic that is sometimes used in
faux fur is not; 100% Sorona-based fabrics can be easily recycled back into
PET (and PTT if one chooses) melt streams.
-
The unique molecular structure of Sorona fiber provides performance benefits
including softness, brilliant colors and moisture wicking, which enabled
Ecopel to create a full suite of faux fur solutions beyond what is in the
market today.
Image credit: Ecopel
As a spokesperson from Ecopel explained to Sustainable Brands, with the
development of this next-generation faux fur came the need to dispel some
long-held misconceptions about what constitutes material sustainability in the
fashion industry.
"Some brands were torn between harming animals or using synthetics that have an
impact on the environment. This was a surprise for us; few designers seem to
realize that, polyester, for instance, has a smaller impact than animal-based
fibers. Actually, many brands think that fibers considered 'natural' are
necessarily eco-friendly, which is far from being true ; as, for instance, is
demonstrated by the ecological issues linked to
leather.
So, we had to provide them with more facts and education for a more balanced
conversation. We didn’t want the debate to become a simplistic ‘saving animals
vs protecting the environment.’ In addition to that, synthetics have the
potential to become a closed-loop system."
In addition to the circularity potential, the spokesperson said Ecopel’s faux
fur products also improve on conventional because of its use of chemicals that
are
REACH-certified
and free of harmful components, when necessary.
Ecopel says it’s too early to say how much of its faux fur will contain Sorona
fibers going forward, but the spokesperson told SB : "Ideally, we would like
all our faux furs [to be] from recycled or from bio-based sources, because we
are highly motivated in creating a transition from 100 percent oil-based to 100
percent sustainable. From what we have seen in the last couple of weeks, the
reception of brands is hugely positive, so the transtion might happen in the
coming years."
Koba Fur-Free Fur will be developed as part of the Stella McCartney
Collections from 2020.
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Published Oct 4, 2019 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST