Fashion for Good and AltMat welcome the two European retailers as founding brand signatories, supporting the commercial adoption of fibres made from upcycled agricultural waste.
C&A and Zalando have joined the Altag® Fiber Club as its first brand signatories, marking an important step towards bringing next-generation fibres made from agricultural waste into mainstream fashion. The initiative, developed through a partnership between Fashion for Good and AltMat, aims to accelerate commercial production and adoption by connecting material innovators with brands committed to scaling sustainable alternatives.
Addressing the Gap Between Sustainability Goals and Commercial Adoption
Materials account for 91% of the fashion industry’s total emissions and can represent approximately 30% of a product’s cost of goods sold, according to a February 2025 report by Boston Consulting Group and Fashion for Good titled Scaling Next-Gen Materials in Fashion: An Executive Guide.
Despite growing interest in sustainable materials, brands often hesitate to commit without reliable supply, while material innovators face difficulties scaling production without confirmed demand.
The Altag® Fiber Club was launched in June 2025 through a strategic partnership between Fashion for Good and AltMat to address these challenges. By pooling resources and minimum order commitments, the initiative aims to distribute commercial risks and establish the conditions required for large-scale adoption.
Altag® is a natural fibre developed by AltMat using agricultural waste from food, medicinal and non-textile crops. These residues would otherwise remain underutilised or be burned in agricultural fields. The resulting renewable fibre offers an alternative to conventional materials without requiring dedicated agricultural land or water resources.
The initiative builds on Fashion for Good’s earlier Fiber Club collaboration with textile-to-textile recycler Circ in 2024, developed in partnership with Canopy. The model seeks to address major barriers to next-generation material adoption, including scalability, processing compatibility and cost competitiveness.
C&A and Zalando Commit to First Altag® Products
The addition of C&A and Zalando marks a significant commercial development for the initiative. Both retailers have committed to producing their first styles incorporating Altag® fibre, bringing products made from upcycled agricultural residues closer to mainstream retail markets.
Their participation extends beyond purchasing commitments. As founding brand signatories, the companies will contribute practical requirements from high-volume retail operations, including technical specifications, consumer expectations and manufacturing considerations.
This feedback will help shape the continued development of Altag® fibre and its compatibility with existing supply chains and product requirements. In return, the brands gain an early opportunity to influence the development of a next-generation material intended for commercial-scale production.
Industry Leaders Highlight the Importance of Collaboration
Katrin Ley, Managing Director at Fashion for Good, said:
“Next-gen materials will only deliver on their promise if they reach volume. That requires brands with the scale and conviction to commit early, and that is exactly what Zalando and C&A bring to the Altag® Fiber Club. This is the kind of partnership that changes the trajectory of an innovation.”
Shikha Shah, Founder & CEO at AltMat, highlighted the importance of combining environmental responsibility with product performance and supply-chain compatibility.
She said:
“Fashion’s impact on the environment underscores the urgent need to shift to better materials. But for these next-generation materials to succeed, they must do more than be responsibly made; they must match the aesthetics and performance that brands and consumers expect, while integrating seamlessly across global supply chains. Altag® has been relentlessly built to tick all boxes. We’re excited to welcome C&A and Zalando on this journey as we work together to bring better materials to more wardrobes and help shape the future of fashion.”
Pascal Brun, VP Sustainability at Zalando, added:
“Scaling next-gen materials requires the whole value chain to move together. The Altag® Fiber Club gives us a concrete chance to co-develop the material and test its adoption with customers across all Europe. This is a very important step to build an infrastructure that the whole industry can benefit from.”