The Material Innovation Initiative (MII) and North Mountain Consulting Group’s consumer research, Next-gen materials: A 2023 assessment of the potential for U.S. consumer adoption, highlights a significant shift away from traditional animal products and current-generation synthetics.
More than 1,000 US adults were surveyed for the report, and it concluded that 92 per cent of them were willing to buy next-generation products. Of them, 41 per cent said they were very or very likely to make such purchases, compared to 51 per cent who said they were somewhat or moderately inclined to do so.
According to the report, those respondents who were ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ inclined to reply were ‘early adopters’ of next-generation materials, and members of this group were all prepared to spend at least the same amount for these materials as opposed to conventional ones.
According to the analysis, petrochemical-based synthetics and conventional items made from animal byproducts like leather, wool, down, silk, and fur are not as sustainable as next-generation materials.
These environmentally friendly items are created without the use of animals or their byproducts utilising a variety of cutting-edge processes and materials, including recycled textiles, plant-based fibres, algae, mycelium, agricultural waste, programmed microorganisms, and grown animal cells.