May 2026

Sustainable materials are becoming a design language, not just a spec sheet

For a long time, “sustainable” meant a quiet swap: recycled polyester standing in for leather, same stitching, same colour. That's changing. Materials with a visible, honest texture, cork, reclaimed wood, mycelium-based composites, are starting to be specified because of how they look, not despite it.

That's a more interesting problem for a designer than a compliance checkbox. It means CMF decisions start earlier in the process, not as a late-stage material substitution but as a proportion and surface decision from the first sketch. The brands doing this well aren't hiding the material's origin, they're making it part of the story the interior tells.