The IET unveils world’s first biodegradable school backpack to launch its annual STEM competition

A school backpack that can be thrown in the compost bin when you’re done with it has been unveiled today to inspire children to bring their ideas to life and change our world for the better.

Every item – bar the zips which can be cut out and reused – is compostable. Once children are done with it, the school must-have can be donated to someone else or thrown into a compost bin where it will decompose in less than a year.

The biodegradable backpack has been created by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), in partnership with global fashion brand HYPE. and Biophilica, the creators of TreeKind leaf leather, to launch the IET’s ‘Backpack to the Future’ campaign – a national competition inviting 5–13-year-olds to design a backpack that helps them do incredible things.

The unveiling follows a study of over 1,000 children aged five to 13 which found that 86% of young people consider dressing sustainably more important than ‘looking cool’.

Asked what they thought would be available to buy in the next 5-10 years, 24% said compostable clothes and 27% said school uniform that turns into home clothes when they want or need. In the future, over a quarter (28%) expect to see clothes that grow at the same speed as the wearer and 23% imagine clothes that can fix themselves if they get ripped or torn.

Testament of how children see fashion playing a key role in wider societal change, half (49%) reckon we’ll see clothes that can regulate your temperature and 41% can picture bionic trousers that help people with disabilities to walk. A third (34%) even say lots of their friends already wear gadgets which help them do more in their day-to-day lives.

Other predictions kids thought would be invented in the next 40 years included flying shoes (35%), teleporting clothing (33%), telepathic headwear (37%) and hats that allow you to play video games with your mind (60%).

To spark excitement about how STEM can turn kids’ ideas into reality, the winner of the ‘Backpack to the Future’ competition will have a working prototype of their design made and will even get to see a backpack inspired by their design displayed in HYPE.’s flagship London store, allowing kids to come and see part of their vision of future fashion brought to life by one of their favourite brands.

Mira Nameth from Biophilica, commented: “It’s fascinating to see young people's predictions for what fashion of the future will be like. As passionate innovators in our industry it’s also really encouraging that so many are striving for a more sustainable future.

“Our Treekind material is free of plastic, recyclable, and compostable. To partner with the IET and a high street brand like HYPE. to make the world’s first biodegradable school backpack is extremely exciting. STEM is now at the heart of innovations in the fashion industry and these developments will inevitably continue to move from high end to high street in the coming years.”

According to the research, only one in ten (10%) kids think that engineers work in fashion and just 16% can understand how science and fashion are related. The IET’s competition aims to change perceptions and show children how they are able to combine their passion for fashion with a STEM related career.

Bav Samani, HYPE. Co-Founder and CEO, added: “HYPE. has been at the forefront of children’s lifestyle-fashion for over a decade. Teaming up with the IET and Biophilica just had to be done. Working together to pioneer sustainable developments in the field and encouraging more young people to get excited about STEM.

“We can’t wait to see the designs that kids come up with as part of the competition, and to turn one of the ideas into a reality will be incredible with the involvement of our Carnaby, London Flagship!”

The competition is open between 27th September and 30th October 2022. To enter, children simply have to sketch their backpack design along with a description of how it works.

Entries will be judged on originality, feasibility, creativity and engineering practices by a panel of experts including Professor Danielle George from the IET, Dr Ciara McGrath, the IET’s current Young Woman Engineer of the Year, Bav Samani and Liam Green, co-founders of HYPE. and Mira Nameth founder of Biophilica.

Professor Danielle George MBE, IET Fellow and judge of the 2021 Manufacturing Futures fashion competition, commented: “Over the past decade we’ve seen an expanding fusion of fashion, engineering and technology through the universal rollout of things like wearables and adaptive clothing.

“It’s inevitable that these developments will continue to progress over the coming years, and we’ll see a growing number of opportunities for engineers and technicians in the world of fashion.

“With this competition we hope that children can really connect with their creative sides and generate some fantastic ideas for clothes that can help to engineer a better world – and also that it demonstrates to them that STEM related careers represent a world of possibilities.”

Alongside the competition, the IET, Biophilica and HYPE. have released a ‘FactPack’ – a number of fun facts demonstrating to children the links between fashion and STEM – and illustrating the ways in which engineers and technicians are currently involved in the fashion industry.

For more information on the campaign and to download the entry form and ‘Factpack’ - please visit: https://www.engineer-a-better-world.org/

Top 10 fashion items hoped for in the future:

1. Biodegradable clothes (74%)

2. Clothes that can regulate temperature (49%)

3. Bionic trousers that can help people with disabilities to walk (41%)

4. Clothes that give you energy (38%)

5. Shoes that can generate electricity (35%)

6. Adaptive clothing for people with disabilities (35%)

7. A watch that can measure and boost energy levels (34%)

8. A backpack that can heat food (32%)

9. Clothes that grow at the same rate as you (28%)

10. Clothes which can tell if you’re getting ill (27%) / heal you if you get a cut or bruise (27%)