create
the
change

BIOTEXFUTURE is an innovation space focused on bio-based textile research. Until the end of 2025, it was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt, BMFTR). The project was led by adidas AG and RWTH Aachen University and is now being continued by the Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University.

We work together with industry and research partners. Our vision is to transform the textile value chain from petroleum-based to bio-based textiles and to bring about this change together.

With the Bioeconomy Innovation Spaces funding concept, the BMFTR intends to support bioeconomy research and thus drive the transformation to a sustainable, biobased economy.

our
vision Convert the textile value chain from petroleum-based to bio-based Read more
OUR
objectives

Achieving our vision requires:

  • a bio-based raw material basis for plastics that is holistically sustainable
  • the application in the textile industry starting at biopolymer development to producing textiles
  • the overall societal transformation towards a bio-economy from a social and economic perspective

BIOTEXFUTURE
Innovation Day – Spring 2026

 

“Fiber Materials and Agriculture – A New Relationship”

 

 

5 May 2026, 10:00 h – 14:00 h CEST

 

ITA (Institute for Textile Technology),
RWTH Aachen University

 

This event highlights how agriculture can be both a source of next-generation bio-based fibers (e.g., from residues, crops, or side streams) and a beneficiary of textile-driven innovations.

The Innovation Day will explore cross-sector opportunities connecting agriculture, the food value chain, and textiles – from new material concepts to practical applications in and for the agri-sector. It’s about turning biomass into high-value fibers and translating fiber know-how back into solutions that support more sustainable agricultural systems.

The event will take place on-site (in person) at ITA in Aachen, Germany, while the presentations will be streamed digitally. Expect expert talks and, most importantly, plenty of time for in-depth exchange and discussion with peers from research and industry.

An official invitation including individual registration details will follow soon.

Events

Events
BIOTEXFUTURE Innovation Day (5 May) Monday, Feb 2
Details
BIOTEXFUTURE at ISPO 2025 (30 Nov – 2 Dec) Wednesday, Oct 29
Details
Sustainable Innovations at Munich Fabric Start 2025 (2 – 3 September) Monday, Sep 1
Details
BIOTEXFUTURE Exhibition at the Deutsches Museum Nuremberg (7 Aug – 14 Sep 2025) Thursday, Jul 17
Details
Munich Fabric Start 2025 (2 – 3 September) Thursday, Jul 17
Details
BIOTEXFUTURE at Milan Design Week Wednesday, Mar 5
Details

News

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TransitionLab Last Insight Session Thursday, Dec 18, 2025
Details
Recap – BMFTR Event for Bioeconomy Innovation Spaces Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025
Details
Recap – BIOTEXFUTURE at ISPO 2025 Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025
Details
TransitionLab Insights Event #47 Tuesday, Nov 18, 2025
Details
Recap – BIOTEXFUTURE Fall Forum 2025 Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025
Details
Recap – BIOTEXFUTURE exhibition in Nuremberg Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025
Details

Projects

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The innovation space BIOTEXFUTURE consists of projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) within the framework of the “Nationalen Forschungsstrategie BioÖkonomie 2030”. BIOTEXFUTURE was part of the funding program “Innovationsräume Bioökonomie”.

ALGAETEX Algae-derived biopolymers for the application of textiles.
BIOBASE Bio-based alternatives from available resources for textile applications with competitive costs and properties.
BIOCOAT Development of bio-based textile finishes for high performance textiles.
BioCushion Develop an application-specific process description for the development of circular spacer fabrics that can be used on an industrial scale and adapted for other areas of application
BioPEtex PE-based, spun-dyed and sustainable clothing made from organic raw materials
BioTexCirc Development of a sustainable value chain in the textile industry through chemical recycling of bio-based polymers.
BIOTURF Develop an artificial turf structure made of bio-polyethylene (PE), which does not differ chemically from crude oil-based PE regarding key characteristics.
BioVlies Biodegradable agricultural nonwoven made from bio-based and biodegradable polymers.
CircWool Recycling technology for wool waste to reintegrate it into a circular textile cycle.
Co2Tex The establishment of commercially viable elastic filament yarns made from CO2-containing TPU.
CoSpinning Collagen spinning in ionic liquids and low-melting eutectic solvents.
Degratex Develop biobased, degradable solutions for geotextiles in short term applications such as temporary earthen structures and vegetation protection.
FunColor Biotechnological process for the production of biological color pigments by harnessing the established fungal cell factory Aspergillus niger.
FungalFibers Biodegradable, antibiotic solution-spun chitosan fibres from a reliable, reproducible and highly scalable production process based on fungal biomass from fermentation processes.
Gold Analyse the Goldschlägerhaut mechanically, structurally, and genetically down to the molecular level.
GXY Genetically programmable collagen materials for biodegradable high-performance textile fibres.
LightLining A lightweight super-insulating nonwoven for sportswear.
Replay Recycled PLA yarns and textiles for cleaning applications.
SmartBioFinish Textile finishing technology based on anchor peptides for water- and oil-repellent properties.
TransitionLab Success factors and ELSI aspects of biotextile innovation for a societal transition to the bioeconomy.

Insights Sessions

Read more about TransitionLab

The TransitionLab Insights Event Series helps to share results regarding the social environment for innovations across the textile value-chain and therby helps to spark new ideas and broaden perspectives on societal issues associated with bio-based products across BIOTEXFUTURE. 

Last Insights Session The last session introduces the TransitionLab communication guideline.
Insights Session #47 The 47th session compares the consumer perceptions of different feedstocks in bio-based products.
Insights Session #46 The 46th session compares the Bioeconomy Innovation Spaces and explores how they enable collaboration and knowledge sharing across their projects.
Insights Session #45 The 45th session explored how consumers think and behave around product care and shares findings from SmartBioFinish.
Insights Session #44 The 44th session focused on consumer roles in reducing textile waste and driving sustainability in the textile industry.
Insights Session #43 The 43rd session focused on different scenario developments.
Insights Session #42 The 42nd session focused on identifying product innovation opportunities from online customer reviews.
Insights Session #41 The 41st session presented first insights on the comparison of the bioeconomy innovation spaces.
Insights Session #40 The 40th session presented information about sustainable fashion communication on X.
Insights Session #39 The 39th session presented the results of an interesting workshop on the topic of scenario development.
Insights Session #38 The 38th session discussed how to make the Transitionlab insights available in the best possible way.
Insights Session #37 The 37th session presented an interesting stakeholder analysis and survey results.
Insights Session #36 The 36th session dealt with the key question ‘How addressing mental models in production design affects the success of sustainable innovations’
Insights Session #35 The 35th session discussed further application areas for bio-based textiles just like the automotive industry, home textiles or technical textiles.
Insights Session #34 The 34th session gave insights on a study focussing on the collaboration in the innovation space between BIOTEXFUTURE and Bioball
Insights Session #33 The 33rd session gave deeper insights into the BIOTEXFUTURE project BIOBASE whose aim is to establish bio-based polymers in the textile industry and to demonstrate their full potential.
Insights Session #32 The 32nd session presented the results of first student projects corresponding to the mobile upcycling lab experience.
Insights Session #31 The 31st session gave deeper insights into the BIOTEXFUTURE project BIOTURF whose aim is to become a microplastic-free solution for sport turfs.
Insights Session #30 The 30th session summarized the exploratory research at Herzo Outlet and gave insights on associations towards aerogels.
Insights Session #29 The 29th session presented the results of a study focusing on “Baseline for a scenario approach towards a bio-based textile economy”.
Insights Session #28 The 28th session gave insights on the key learnings of the years 2023.
Insights Session #27 The 27th session focused on consumer attitudes towards lab-grown materials.
Insights Session #26 The 26th session presented a mobile upcycling lab experience called “Mule” whose aim is to make the possibilities for change in the textile sector visible and tangible.
Insights Session #25 The 25th session was held by Jannis Gruß who presented the results from his master thesis on the topic of Social Norms in Material Quality Perception.
Insights Session #24 The 24th session gave deeper insights on the topic of “Challenging Mental Models!”
Insights Session #23 The 23rd session focused on the acceptance and communication of bio-based textiles on the basis of a study in cooperation with the university of Bayreuth, which summarized 40+ surveys and experiments.
Insights Session #22 The 22nd session dealt with the topic of communication on twitter with a special focus on textiles.
Insghts Session #21 The 21st session presented the results of a research whose aim was to to capture and analyze the network and quality of innovation collaboration in the BIOTEXFUTURE innovation space.
Insights Session #20 The 20th session focused on expert perspectives on challenges for sustainability transitions.
Insights Session #19 The 19th session discussed the results to date of an ongoing study on the topic of how to communicate sustainability informations: comparing digitalized and conventional formats.
Inisghts Session #18 The 18th session summarized TransitionLab’s work to date, provided key insights and an outlook for the future.
Insights Session #17 The 17th session was all about the question “Are Algae our future?” and a corresponding study with evidence of exploratory focus groups on consumer perceptions of bio-based products.
Insights Session #16 The 16th session focused on expert perspectives on bottlenecks and barriers to a bio-based future.
Insights Session #15 The 15th session discussed the results of a study whose aim was to find out how people think and talk about biobased (textile) products on social media.
Insights Session #14 The 14th session provided insight into the bioeconomy stakeholders, who they are and what they are interested in.
Insights Session #13 The 13th session gave deeper insights into the BIOTEXFUTURE project GOLD and its plan to rethink textiles through collagen.
Insights Session #11 The 11th Session discussed global innovation trends in biopolymer development. Building on a sample of 174,813 patent families concerning 15 different biopolymers. The talk explored innovation in different technological fields and regional markets.
Insights Session #10 In the 10th Session explored what we can learn about the relations of stakeholders in the bioeconomy, when applying different forms of network analysis and perspectives.
Insights Session #9 The 9th Session presented and discussed the results of an online survey held in Nov 2021 on peoples preferences and expectations for bio-based textiles.
Insights Session #8 The 8th Session shared the key learnings of the latest report on “Communication strategies for biopolymer-based products”. The experiments reflect sneaker purchases under varying communication strategies.
Insights Session #7 The 7th Session shared key learnings from the qual. study “The Cultural Expectations of Bio-Based Materials” which was held to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural trends and perspectives that explain the potential changes and opportunities in the textile industry.
Insights Session #6 The 6th Session featured a 15-minute talk about the key insights produced by the TransitionLab in the first two years followed by a short discussion.
Insights Session #5 The 5th Session featured a 15-minute talk about a literature review and a topic modelling on the public perception on genetic modification, genetic engineering and biotechnology including genetic modification.
Insights Session #4 The 4th Session discussed the research and patent networks in the Bioeconomy and how to use them for trend and partner identification.
Insights Session #3 The 3rd Session presented results from a comprehensive study of sustainable product innovation projects at the University of Bayreuth.
Insights Session #2 The 2nd Session presented results from the five most interesting student project results on consumer perceptions regarding biopolymer-based garments.
Insights Session #1 The first Session presented an update and first year reflection of their project to the BIOTEXFUTURE members, followed by a short Q & A.

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