Article source 36 krypton future consumption
The story of innovation and trends in the business world has a tendency to roll forward and be irreversible. Electric lights instead of oil lamps, cars instead of carriages, mobile payments instead of cash, are just a few examples.
A similar scenario may be playing out today in textile materials. When the history of the cotton industry was as old as the history of modern capitalism, more diverse “plant-derived fibers” began to enter the new arena, and changes quietly took place.
As the name suggests, the so-called “plant source fiber” usually refers to the fiber material extracted from natural plant materials such as trees and bamboo, common viscose fiber, Lyocell fiber, etc., all belong to this category. Authoritative scholars have several advantages of the consensus: for example, environmental protection, it comes from nature, no heavy metals, harmful chemicals, and can biodegrade; Such as performance, it is soft in the skin, but also has better moisture absorption, permeability, wear resistance and so on.
The Times are changing, and this fiber material, which can be applied to high-precision and cutting-edge fields such as biology and aerospace, is more and more going to our daily life. The reason, including outdoor equipment, daily care, beauty and skin care and other fields, the needs of consumers are now turning to stronger, more subdivided functions, while requiring its materials, production, etc., are more environmentally friendly, which is precisely with the advantages of plant fiber collision out of the bright spark.
Function and environmental protection are “can play”, high-end and consumer goods “eat”
Despite being a small fiber material, plant-derived fibers can withstand the most demanding applications due to their properties.
Artificial cartilage, hemostatic materials, missile thermal protection layer, such as some of the application fields that sound “hard core”, intuitively tell its performance advantages.
One example is that in 2022, scientists at Duke University in the United States developed a hydrogel cartilage substitute that has become a boon for knee pain patients. Among them, the main material used in this artificial cartilage is plant-derived fiber products. According to the experimental results, its tension, pressure resistance and wear resistance are superior to natural cartilage, and even show multiple advantages in some aspects.
In addition, because of its biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity and other properties, plant-derived fibers are also widely used in medicine as raw materials for hemostatic materials.
As the key material of the thermal protection layer of the intercontinental missile warhead, the space-grade high-purity viscose-based carbon fiber is likened to the “missile protective clothing”, which can protect the missile from high temperature damage, and this material is made of plant fiber by special treatment.
Beyond the sophisticated world, the wave rises with it. In the ordinary consumer demand for daily products also tends to function, safety, environmental protection today, the wind of plant source fiber, blowing to more and more broad land.
According to 36kR observation, from maternal and infant brand Babycare to Uniqlo, Jiangnan Cloth, UR and many other clothing brands, have launched products with plant-derived fiber materials as raw materials. Consumer awareness and recognition is also climbing, small red book users posted that “a few years ago like to buy cotton and hemp, now all changed to Lysel and a small part of hemp.”
Compared with pure cotton material, the production process of plant-derived fiber has less agricultural residues and fluorescence in the industrial planting process. The fabric made of this material can quickly remove sweat from the human body, blend with other fibers, and increase the luster and color power. In the live broadcast room of the head anchor, the plant source fiber often appears at the same time as the adjective “super prominent”, which has become a representative of high-end comfort.
There is also no shortage of plant-derived fibers in the field of daily chemicals. Babycare, a mother and child brand, launched a high-end soft towel made of plant-derived fiber. Industry insiders commented on 36kr, saying, “This fiber is extracted from trees, bamboo and other plants, which is renewable and environmentally friendly, and the fiber is longer, and has good performance in toughness, elasticity and moisture absorption.”
Why is it a “fashion fiber”?
At the beginning of the birth of a great company, it is often accompanied by the quality of “challenging the giants”. So is the rise of a material.
Consumer goods is a very mature competition, and each segment has the most mainstream materials in the past. For example, clothing, soft towel commonly used cotton, facial mask commonly used blended cloth. In these large-scale mass-market consumer goods, users still have pain points to meet, and plant-derived fibers are highly anticipated.
Taking clothing as an example, outdoor related equipment can be called “hot fried chicken”. The White Paper on the Trend of the outdoor industry in the Spring and Summer of 2024 on Taobao Tmall shows that in terms of dress, young people show a dual pursuit of fashion and function. For example, in the sports sweat scene, it is required to be breathable, quick drying and lightweight, and the traditional pure cotton material is difficult to achieve, and the advantages of plant-derived fibers are thus apparent.
From the point of view of the movement of the head brand, KOLON has added a certain proportion of plant-derived fibers to a number of T-shirts and casual clothing products, which meet the functional needs of warmth, breathability and so on, but also more difficult to deform. International well-known outdoor brand Lafuma, independent designer brand Rico Lee, etc., have also launched products containing plant-derived fibers. Lafuma China’s General manager said, “We believe that this solution, which combines environmental protection and excellent performance, can consolidate our leading position in outdoor clothing brands.”
In an ISPO article, the authors say that it is not unreasonable to call plant-derived fibers “trendy fibers” : “This sustainable material is produced in a particularly environmentally friendly way, has excellent air permeability, and is ideal for sportswear.” Anyone who values sustainability but doesn’t want to sacrifice comfort will choose its textiles.”
In addition to outdoor, under the needs of the daily chemical field iteration, the imagination space is also broad. According to Euromonitor statistics, the retail scale of the global soft towel market in 2023 is about 61 billion pieces, which is still in the stage of rapid growth. According to the survey, nearly 80% of respondents said that they usually use disposable face towels, and the material is the most criticized factor in this field.
A professional engaged in the research and development of face towels found in user interviews that users’ demands for soft towel materials are mainly reflected in thickness and toughness, dry softness, cloth hygiene, and plant-derived fiber can just meet the needs of high weight, soft feel, and its 13 times water absorption rate is higher than that of cotton, 9 times water absorption rate. “In addition, pure cotton cloth is easy to mix impurities in the planting and artificial picking process, which is prone to problems such as yellow spots and black spots, so the vast majority of soft towels on the market use plant-derived fibers.”
Another person in the daily chemical care industry told 36kR that the cotton soft towel is generally thin or easy to break, and the material choice can give more consideration to the user experience. For example, he said, Uniqlo fleece has better thermal performance, home textile silk has a more skin-friendly touch, ice silk in the field of sunscreen can cool down, fitness to take the Lycra material has the advantage of elasticity, “pure cotton should not become a single belief in the market, each material has its own advantages, with the right place is a good fiber.”
In addition, the most common non-woven material in the field of facial masks, although cheap, light and soft, non-irritating, but its absorption of serum is less, promoting the effect of osmotic and binding limited. The membrane cloth made of plant fiber is becoming the choice of many high-end brands. This kind of membrane cloth has a strong water absorption ability, and can effectively improve the utilization efficiency of mask essence due to the performance advantages of being fit and breathable, saving water and absorbing water.
Under the large market, the extraction technology of plant-derived fiber is also constantly improving its commercial capacity.
Not long ago, Wang Feng’s team at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that they successfully separated fiber substances from wood efficiently, and published this result in the international top journal “Nature”, which caused global concern. One of the main substances the team isolated was plant-derived fibers.
At present, China is the largest producer of plant fiber, with a complete industrial chain and the most extensive application field. However, it is worth noting that China imported more than 3 million tons of upstream material of plant fiber “dissolved pulp” last year, and the import dependence is close to 90%. In this context, the significance of the above research breakthrough is more important.
When commercial technology is maturing, reference to the similarity of plant source fiber and cotton material in safety and softness, coupled with the optimization and supplement of the former in water absorption, wear resistance, and deformation resistance, the story of replacement in a large range may be quickly played out. For plant-derived fibers, a new golden age like “Cotton Empire” is coming, and the wind chaser has come.
This article is reproduced with authorization from 36 Kr Future Consumption (ID: lslb168). The copyright belongs to 36 Kr Future Consumption and may not be translated or reproduced without permission.
