The Bezos Earth Fund has announced a $34 million investment geared towards reinventing what clothes are made of.

Naturally, the headlines in publications like Inc. were filled with hype:

Jeff Bezos just made a $34 million bet to replace cotton and polyester.

Such is the world of next-gen materials.

To be more specific, the BEF is investing at a fundamental, molecular level.

Researchers are receiving funds to progress projects aimed at solving interesting materials-related problems in fashion.

One that caught my eye is the project out of Clemson University aimed at altering cotton via gene editing/synthetic biology so that it can be grown with “built-in” color, thus, avoiding the traditional dyeing process altogether.

On the one hand, this is an excellent development for scientific discovery.

This type of research is hard work (I’ve done it), and the funding is crucial alongside patience and an appetite for risk.

On the other hand, the hype distracts from other key issues.

Namely:

1 – Creating the next-gen material isn’t the end game. It’s a starting point. The ultimate goal is to create the supply chain for the material.

2 – How much will overdevelopment and other operational issues persist while these new materials are pursued in the name of sustainability?

3 – Can these materials eventually scale?

The third point is the one that really gets swept under the rug.

Because the real issue here has nothing to do with scale.

The real issue is whether the material can graduate into a product assortment.

By the very nature of the word graduate, the material would need to pass a series of tests before being used.

Such tests might include:

The fit/function/form test. Because the material is not the garment, does it perform once cut and sewn into the final product?

The marketing/merchandising test. Does the marketing behind next-gen products match the actual assortment?

The regulation test. Can such materials be slotted in to meet DPP and EPR regulations?

Retailers and brands can design the test questions any way they want, including pressure-testing costs.

Regardless, the effort needed to operationalize next-gen materials requires more attention.

The funding behind the research is needed. But no one ever wins a race by getting one-third of the way to the finish line.

You need to run through the tape.