Material Innovation Conference

 

The Material Innovation Conference (MIC), was held virtually in 2022 and 2023, and focused on addressing critical issues and providing unique perspectives on the next-gen materials industry’s innovation journey from concept to commercialization. Retailers, brands, entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, academia, business incubators, raw material suppliers, mills, and philanthropies are all part of the industry ecosystem that were represented at this one-of-a-kind global event.

On May 18th-19th 2022, we held the inaugural Material Innovation Initiative Conference, which explored opportunities and challenges in accelerating the development and commercialization of next-gen materials. The conference featured 74 expert speakers from leading brands, investment firms, material companies, academic institutions, raw material suppliers, mills, nonprofits, and foundations. We welcomed more than 340 attendees to our virtual conference and our attendees held more than 150 networking meetings with one another over the course of just two days.

Material Innovation Conference (MIC) 2023 was held virtually, June 21-23. Regarded as a ‘mega-summit to accelerate the adoption of next-gen materials,’ the MIC brought together the brilliant minds fueling the future of the next-gen materials industry, from concept to commercialization. The three-day conference hosted nearly 200 attendees and 37 speakers from 28 countries, representing retailers, brands, entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, academia, business incubators, raw material suppliers, mills, and philanthropists to explore big ideas around performance, scalability, sustainability, and aesthetic of next-gen materials.

Learn more about the impact of our conferences in our 2022 post-conference report and 2023 post-conference report.

See Our 2023 Conference videos

See Our 2022 Conference videos

Testimonials

“The Material Innovation Conference represents the action we need to take in order to change the path of destruction our industry is on. I’m inspired to be a part of this true collaborative effort, to learn from others, and to share my experiences of leading innovation in apparel.”

Pasha Whitmire

Material Development Lead, Patagonia

“It takes a village to change the world — by gathering together the market insights, scientific expertise, and vision to see past the status quo, MII is doing crucial work on behalf of the products and solutions that will meet humanity’s material needs sustainably, ethically, and at scale. Together, we are creating the community that will make it so.”

Gavin McIntyre

Co-Founder & Chief Commercialization Officer, Forager

“We are at the forefront of a revolution in material innovation within the fashion industry. I’m eager to partner [with] and support MII in the critical effort to protect our planet.”

Michael Preysmen

Founder, Executive Chair, & Climate Lead, Everlane, Conference Chair