25 sustainable materials that can be used for craft. Narrow them down by feedstock and availability.
A sheet-form leather alternative using pomace/peel by-products from the apple juice industry.
A candidate when looking for a coated fabric to use instead of natural leather. It can be cut and sewn, and i…
A plastic-free technical fabric from abacá (banana family) fibre grown in Philippine highland permaculture — "no pesticides, fertilizer or extra water". Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold (Dec 2021; Natural White, All Black, Gravel, Asphalt and DWR versions). Compostable at home or industrially, with a paper-recycling loop turning used fabric into new yarn. A collaboration between Swiss brand QWSTION and Taiwanese yarn and weaving specialists.
The highest-certified plant fabric on the axis (C2C Gold). Where pineapple and cactus leathers carry coating…
A 100% natural fiber refined from the stem and leaf residues of food and medicinal crops.
A spinnable fiber feedstock extracted from cellulose-rich agricultural residues such as the stems and leaves…
A dissolving pulp chemically recycled from 100% waste cotton textiles, made at the world's first commercial-scale textile-to-textile chemical recycling plant (Ortviken, Sundsvall, Sweden), with commercial production restarted in February 2026. Fibre makers such as Tangshan Sanyou and Aditya Birla use it for viscose and lyocell, with brand partners including H&M, Mango and Marimekko (four new partners announced June 2026).
An upstream feedstock record for textile-to-textile circularity — one step above recycled yarns (SaXcell, Hyo…
A molded composite combining used coffee grounds with recycled wood fiber and plant-based polymer.
A molded material that mixes coffee grounds with recycled wood fiber and plant-based polymer.
Korean-made PVC fabric produced by recycling composite PVC waste.
A Korean closed-loop material case: industrial composite PVC waste is recycled into flakes, powder and pellet…
PA6 feedstock and yarn chemically regenerated from nylon waste such as fishing nets and carpets.
Rather than a finished product, it returns nylon waste to PA6 at the feedstock stage, so it can be connected…
100% bio-based flat panels made from agricultural and urban waste fibers (leftovers of the agricultural, corrugate and label industries), with no urea formaldehyde or isocyanates added. Three lines — Ecor-1, Ecor-Ply, Ecor-HB — in 1.8 to 16 mm. USDA BioPreferred stated. For furniture, cabinetry, door skins and exhibitions. HQ La Jolla, USA; manufacturing in Kraljevo, Serbia.
Adds a waste-fiber flat panel with an MDF-replacement story to the exhibition and furniture axes. Going as th…
ecothylene® — a material recycled from old plastic toys, made into furniture and lighting. "The ecoBirdy technology turns old plastic toys into design furniture which is entirely recyclable." Known for its unmixed speckled surface. SGS, CE and VOC certifications shown; the company is a B Corp. Designed in Antwerp, Belgium; made in Italy. Charlie chair, Luisa table, Rhino lamp and more.
Revives an emotionally loaded waste stream — toys — as design furniture. A rare recycled plastic you can prop…
A coated/sheet-type alternative leather material that uses grape by-products from the wine industry.
A material combining grape by-products from the wine industry with vegetable oils and natural agricultural fi…
Sheet material based on bacterial cellulose cultured in coconut-processing wastewater / waste coconut water.
A bacterial cellulose material cultured in coconut water that would otherwise be discarded.
Recycled wool fibre and fabric from Manteco (est. 1943), Tuscany. GRS certified, EPD (ISO 14025) and a peer-reviewed LCA (published in MDPI): −99.2% climate change, −99.9% water, −93.3% energy vs generic virgin wool. Recype no-dye colouring blends shade-sorted fibres into 1000+ colours without chemicals or dyes. Offered as Pure (100%), Woolten (TENCEL blend) and cashmere-blend fabrics.
The most tightly evidenced recycled wool on the textile-waste axis. Recype removes dyeing itself — the substa…
A premium flexible sheet made by precisely growing mycelium.
Uses the fiber structure of mycelium to create a feel and expression between leather and fabric, offering a n…
A surface / leather-alternative material that uses by-products from orange and cactus processing.
A soft material that blends citrus and cactus processing by-products with polymer and binder.
Fabric from cellulose extracted out of citrus juice industry by-products (Catania, Italy, since 2014; patented process) — stated as the world's first. Used by Salvatore Ferragamo and H&M, and in a 2021 TENCEL Limited Edition with Lenzing (citrus pulp in lyocell). Developed as luxury-leaning fabrics such as satins.
Adds citrus to the food-by-product fabric axis (apple, grape, cactus). Distinct for being fabric-first rather…
A coated nonwoven surface material made from pineapple leaf by-products.
Pineapple leaves, an agricultural waste, are used as a leather-alternative sheet that can be applied as a sur…
A family of nylon yarns made by recycling pre- and post-process nylon waste.
A recycled nylon yarn made by a Korean manufacturer. Depending on the grade, waste from the production proces…
A recycled nylon yarn made from recovered waste fishing nets.
A nylon yarn made from recovered discarded fishing nets.
A polyester yarn recycled from waste PET bottles.
A recycled polyester yarn made from waste PET bottles. Grades and certifications vary by product.
A traceable polyester yarn, fiber and resin made by recycling waste PET bottles.
A commercially available recycled PET feedstock that extends beyond fabric to nonwoven, sheeting, film and re…
A high-density paper composite made by laminating recycled paper with resin under high pressure.
Although paper-based, it fits into the fabrication workflows of wood and solid-surface materials, such as cou…
A recycled fiber made by recovering cellulose from pre- and post-consumer textile waste with high cotton content.
A fiber made by extracting cellulose from waste textiles with a high cotton share and regenerating it through…
A decorative biocomposite made from food by-products such as eggshells and nutshells.
A composite of discarded eggshells and nutshells bound with an organic, biodegradable binder.
Lyocell and modal fibres from responsibly managed wood pulp by Lenzing, Austria. Stated at least 50% lower carbon emissions and water use than standard, EU Ecolabel certified, with biodegradability and compostability certifications stated. HQ in Lenzing, Austria. The reference regenerated-cellulose fibre for apparel, home textiles and upholstery.
The industrial baseline for regenerated cellulose fibre. Where Circulose covers the pulp stage, this is the f…
Paper, bioplastic (injection, extrusion, 3D filament) and bio-concrete from Dutch-grown elephant grass (miscanthus). The crop absorbs about 30 t CO2 per hectare per year (four times a European forest), needs no fertiliser, and grows on marginal non-food land — figures stated both on the company's page and in the Holland Circular Hotspot case. Rotterdam-based, with Wageningen University guidance noted by HCH.
A local-feedstock material whose crop is itself a carbon sink (30 t/ha). Evidence is thin — company and publi…