Finding an exciting new material is one thing.
Finding someone willing to turn it into 50 bags, 200 pairs of shoes or an actual production-ready garment is another.
When a brand works with an unfamiliar material, the manufacturing process often becomes part of the material-development journey itself. The material may not fit neatly into an existing supply chain, the manufacturer may need to adapt its processes, and some of the components normally taken for granted may suddenly become a problem.
This is where things can get wonderfully experimental.
And occasionally rather frustrating.
Finding a manufacturer willing to experiment
Manufacturers tend to have good reasons for liking familiar materials.
They know how to source them. Their teams know how to work with them. Their machinery and processes are set up accordingly. They know what to expect from the material during cutting, sewing, bonding and finishing.
A new material can disrupt all of that.
The manufacturer may need to source a material outside its normal supply chain. The quantities may be too small to fit its usual production model. The material may require additional sampling or testing, and there may be no guarantee that the first production trial will work.
From the manufacturer's perspective, that is a considerable amount of time and effort for an uncertain outcome.
This is why smaller and more flexible production partners can sometimes be a useful starting point.
Artisans, ateliers and small manufacturing studios can be particularly valuable during early development because they are often set up to experiment, modify construction and work through problems rather than simply repeat an established production process.
A perfect large-scale manufacturer is not necessarily the best first manufacturer.
Sometimes you need someone who is willing to figure things out with you.
For a small business it is best to develop your prototype with the studio or atelier that will be responsible for its production.
Start with prototypes, not production
When a material is unfamiliar, the prototype becomes a learning tool.
It can reveal things that a material sample simply cannot.
Does the material need support?
Can it be sewn using the existing machine settings?
How does it behave around corners?
What happens at seams?
Can it be turned, folded, pressed or bonded?
Does the construction need to change?
These discoveries are extremely valuable before committing to production.
Learning to work with the material yourself can also be useful, even if you ultimately have no intention of manufacturing the final product yourself.
A little hands-on experimentation can help you understand the material well enough to have much more productive conversations with manufacturers.
And yes, there will probably be some failed prototypes.
That is not necessarily a bad thing.
It is often how the material starts telling you what it wants to do.
Your material doesn't know your manufacturing rules
One of the biggest mistakes when introducing a new material is assuming that the existing manufacturing process should remain completely unchanged.
A new material may require a different construction approach.
If the material is more flexible, more rigid, less stretchable, more sensitive to heat or behaves differently when bonded, the product may need to adapt with it.
This is particularly important when a brand has sustainability requirements that go beyond the primary material.
For example, a product designed around biodegradability cannot simply focus on the outer material while overlooking polyester interlinings, unsuitable adhesives, synthetic threads or other components introduced during manufacturing.
The manufacturing process needs to be considered as a whole.
Educating the manufacturing team
A manufacturer cannot automatically know what your material principles are.
If your brand has specific requirements around biodegradability, recyclability, localisation, bio-based content or other sustainability criteria, these need to be clearly communicated.
Otherwise, a manufacturer will quite reasonably use the materials and processes they normally use.
A useful starting point is to establish your requirements before production begins.
For example:
Define the rules.
What are the non-negotiables for this product?
Map the manufacturing process.
Understand every stage, from cutting and construction to finishing and packaging.
Check each stage against the rules.
Where does the existing process work? Where does it conflict with your requirements?
Adjust where necessary.
Sometimes the process needs to change. Sometimes the original requirement needs to be reconsidered because a technically realistic alternative is needed.
Document the final requirements.
Your manufacturer needs a clear, practical specification rather than a general statement that the product should be “sustainable.”
And finally:
Find a production partner who is willing to work within those parameters.
The best manufacturing relationship is not necessarily the one with the lowest initial quotation.
It may be the one where the manufacturer actually understands what you are trying to achieve.
Let the material be itself
There is a natural temptation to ask a new material to behave exactly like an established one.
You have used a particular leather before, so you want the new material to cut, fold, stitch and finish in exactly the same way.
You have used a particular textile before, so you expect the new textile to drape in exactly the same way.
But a new material is new precisely because it is different.
Its structure, composition and manufacturing process may give it completely different characteristics.
Trying to force it into the behaviour of another material can therefore become counterproductive.
A better starting point is curiosity.
What does this material naturally do well?
Does it have an interesting structure?
A particular stiffness?
A beautiful surface?
Unexpected flexibility?
A distinctive texture?
A different response to folding, moulding or stitching?
Designing with those characteristics rather than fighting them can lead to much more interesting results.
The goal is not necessarily to make a material behave like something familiar.
Sometimes the goal is to discover what the new material makes possible.
Don't forget everything around the material
The outer material is rarely the entire product.
There may be lining, thread, reinforcement, interlining, padding, adhesives, zips, buttons, labels, hardware, coatings and packaging.
When a brand has defined specific sustainability principles, each of these can become relevant.
This is where product development can become surprisingly complicated.
You may find an innovative material that fits your brief beautifully, only to discover that the most appropriate reinforcement contains a material you are trying to avoid.
Or that the adhesive normally used by the factory does not fit your requirements.
Or that a particular piece of hardware is only available at quantities far beyond your production needs.
Ancillary materials therefore deserve attention early in the development process rather than being treated as finishing touches.
Sometimes they can even become part of the material innovation story themselves.
Innovative padding, alternative hardware and new construction components can contribute to a product that is much more coherent than simply replacing one conventional material with another.
Working with variability
Some emerging materials can have more variation than established industrial materials.
This can happen for different reasons depending on the material and manufacturing process — including biological feedstocks, agricultural inputs, natural colourants or production methods that are still being refined.
The important thing is to understand the actual level of variability rather than assuming that every emerging material behaves in the same way.
For manufacturing, this means agreeing what variation is acceptable.
For the customer, it means setting appropriate expectations.
And for the brand, it means understanding whether a particular variation is a defect or simply a characteristic of the material.
This can be particularly important during the early stages of commercialisation.
A small production run allows the brand and manufacturer to learn together, adjust construction and refine specifications before scaling up.
New materials can change the production process
Working with innovative materials is rarely a simple case of:
new material + existing product = new product.
The material can influence the construction.
The construction can influence the manufacturing process.
The manufacturing process can influence which material specification works.
And suddenly you have a development project.
That is not necessarily a problem.
In fact, it is often where the most interesting work happens.
The key is to recognise this early rather than expecting a new material to arrive with a complete manufacturing playbook attached.
A manufacturing network that understands new materials
Finding the right manufacturing partner can be one of the biggest challenges when working with new materials.
Substanz has built a network of producers, manufacturers and specialist makers with experience working with innovative and unfamiliar materials — people who understand that a new material may require a different approach to sampling, construction and production. We use this network to help brands identify manufacturing partners that are more likely to be a good fit for their material and product, reducing unnecessary trial and error, costly missteps and time spent approaching manufacturers who simply aren't equipped for the job. Because when you're working with a new material, the right manufacturing partner can make a very big difference.
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