Advancements in sustainable textiles: electrospinning through the lens of textile design

The global fiber market is dominated by fossil-derived synthetic polymers, whereas bio-based alternatives remain heavily reliant on virgin wood. In such context, the electrospinning technique emerges as an option to produce cellulose-based textiles. Drawing on a qualitative literature review that spans chemistry, engineering and textile studies, the work first outlines the principles of electrospinning and the specific advantages of electrospun nanofibrous structures, including high surface area, tuneable morphology and suitability for bio-based and waste-derived polymers. It then reframes electrospinning “through the lens of textiles” by distinguishing three main outcome categories—nonwovens, nanofiber yarns and coatings onto fabrics and yarns—and discussing how recent process innovations begin to address productivity and scalability into conventional textile manufacturing, while still presenting challenges in energy consumption, solvent use and process complexity. A dedicated section focuses on electrospinning for cellulosic fiber production from agro-industrial and textile waste, highlighting both the opportunities of waste valorisation and the technical and environmental constraints associated with solvent systems, throughput and end-of-life. On this basis, the paper proposes two exploratory textile-design-oriented approaches. A layering approach explores differentiated thickness, material layering and color layering in electrospun membranes and coatings for various fields of application. A 3D approach investigates direct electrospinning onto pre-shaped conductive forms to create textured, form-fitting membranes and high-value components that could reduce assembly steps in technical clothing, footwear and medical products. Overall, the paper argues that electrospinning should not be considered intrinsically “sustainable, ” but as a potentially enabling technology whose contribution to sustainable textile innovation depends on explicitly interdisciplinary collaboration. In this perspective, textile designers, chemists and engineers must co-develop greener formulations, more efficient setups and design processes embedded in life-cycle thinking, positioning designers as active agents in defining briefs, applications and experimentation protocols rather than as end-users of a given technology.