Greening Apparel Global Supply Chains: Green Fiber Technology Companies and Their Challenges With Commercializing New Technologies

The global apparel industry accounts for 8-10% of global emissions and therefore urgently needs to move away from fossil fuel-based energy sources, inputs and production methods. Achieving this requires replacing virgin polyester and cotton with novel green fibers that contain a significantly lower carbon content. Recent regulatory changes on circular economy principles in the EU and US have catalyzed the emergence of a range of new firms that seek to commercialize such novel green textile fibers. At the same time, we know less about the scale and speed with which these new fiber technologies are diffusing across the industry. To address this gap, the paper provides the first comprehensive mapping of firms that seek to commercialize green textile fibers, the technologies that are used, and the challenges that these firms face in entering apparel global supply chains. Our analysis draws on a range of sources including EU policy documents, apparel trade journals, firm websites and corporate reports, as well as interviews with green fiber technology firms, brands, and apparel manufacturers. We find that 129 firms are currently aiming at commercializing novel green fiber technologies, using biosynthetic and bio-assembly, regenerative cellulosic as well as chemical and thermal textile-to-textile recycling methods. Our in-depth analysis of the commercialization strategies of ten green fiber tech firms suggests that the challenges vary across technologies that are deployed. At the same time, there are a number of cross-cutting challenges that all innovating firms face, including obtaining finance for large scale production, as well as reaching price parity with conventional fibers.