Bio-based embellishment: The button, bead, sequin, and feather makers changing fashion

When we talk about biomaterials and fashion, textiles often take top billing. Lab-grown leather, fermented yarn — these are classics in the space. But what about the fashion staples that can be overlooked? How many buttons, beads, sequins, and feathers get made, used, and discarded every year?

Fevvers™: Plant-based, cruelty free feathers

Feathers featured heavily on a number of Spring 2026 runways, but only one embellished with something not based in plastic and animal products. Stella McCartney, a designer who has proven her openness and excitement for biomaterials, showed three garments featuring “fevvers”, including the final look.

Similar to fur, as discussed in our article on BioFur, feathers have historically had just two sources: animals or plastics (i.e. petroleum products). Fevvers is looking to change that with plant-based, naturally dyed alternatives. It’s early days, but the high profile support from Stella McCartney bodes well.

Radiant Matter™: All that glitters is cellulose

People love something shiny, and when it comes to fashion, sequins have been the go-to for decades. But these tiny pieces of shimmer are also a petroleum product and often use environmentally costly dyes. Radiant Matter’s biodegradable BioSequin is made from renewable cellulose and the pigment-free colouring doesn’t rely on mined minerals or metals for its shine.

Uluu™: Cute as a button

Buttons are so ubiquitous that it’s easy to forget just how many little bits of plastic are being made every year. Now Uluu, which makes a seaweed-fed fermented plastic alternative, has partnered with Australian sleepwear brand Papinelle to make bio-based buttons. “These buttons may be small, but they represent a major leap in how fashion can rethink materials,” says Uluu co-founder Dr Julia Reisser.

Cellsense™: To bead or not to bead

Another tiny plastic embellishment easily overlooked in the fashion supply chain, millions of plastic beads are sewn on clothing and used in jewellery. Cellsense uses textile scraps and algae waste to create a biotech alternative, including using vibrant microbial dyes and even fluorescence.

Their manufacturing process is unique, too. A robot syringe, hydrophobic mould, and room temperature setting — the video on their website is hypnotic.

PlantMe™: From Mardi Gras to Mardi grow

An honorary mention, since it’s not strictly fashion related. PlantMe Beads solves a very specific local annual challenge: the hundreds of beads thrown to the crowd in New Orleans every Mardi Gras. Biological sciences students, working at Dr. Naohiro Kato’s Louisiana State University lab, created a biodegradable alternative, with embedded seeds that both accelerate the beads breaking down and will grow into plants in your pot or garden.

The beads are produced with 3D printers and bio-based plastics, with the additional benefit of being able to be made locally, instead of imported.

There are many developments needed before bio-based alternatives take over the clothing and fashion industry, but the companies featured here are making important strides into the parts of clothing that are so often overlooked. What will the first fully biodegradable outfit on the market look like? Choosing from sequins, feathers, beads and buttons means it certainly won’t have to be plain!

Have an idea for a company or innovation we should cover? Email editorial@biorunway.com.