Portuguese knit manufacturer Trimalhas has introduced BIONIC 300, a jersey fabric built around a collagen-infused fiber the company says delivers lasting hydration, odor control and antistatic performance without sacrificing the soft hand-feel expected of premium apparel.
The Guimarães-based mill said the fabric is powered by UMORFIL, a bionic yarn developed using supramolecular technology that binds collagen peptides extracted from upcycled fish scales into cellulose fibers. The result, according to Trimalhas, is a material that behaves like a “second skin,” offering natural moisture retention that exceeds that of conventional viscose, along with deodorizing and antistatic properties that the company says remain consistent through repeated wear.
BIONIC 300 is composed of 47% Umorfil, 47% Lyocell and 6% elastane, weighing in at 110 grams per square meter. Trimalhas markets the fabric as fully biodegradable and suitable for sensitive skin, positioning it at the intersection of performance textiles and personal well-being rather than athletic function alone.
The launch is part of a broader collection the company calls PERFORMANCE, which Trimalhas describes as a shift away from a “lab effect” approach to technical knits and toward fabrics engineered around how the body actually feels, breathes and recovers. The collection groups several fabrics under three themes: protection and hygiene for skin contact, thermal management for quick-drying comfort, and recovery-oriented finishes meant to support relaxation.
Alongside BIONIC 300, the collection includes SAFE 101, a 160-gram organic cotton jersey treated with a bioactive finish the company says guards against bacteria and dust mites for up to 25 washes at 40 degrees Celsius. ACTIVE 100, a 100% polyamide 6.6 jersey, carries a cooling finish aimed at heat dissipation for activewear. RELAX 300, a organic cotton rib fabric, uses a bio-based cannabidiol finish that Trimalhas says releases gradually through friction to support relaxation and sleep, also rated for 25 washes.
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Other fabrics in the line include AMBER 100, a recycled-polyamide fancy jersey with an antibacterial finish; FOCUS 700, a lightweight, breathable and water-resistant polyester jersey aimed at technical apparel; CLEMENTINE 100, an organic cotton-polyester fleece with hypoallergenic properties certified under the Global Organic Textile Standard; and KINETIC 200, a mulesing-free wool-cotton-elastane jersey with dry-fit technology for stretch and recovery.
Trimalhas framed the collection as evidence that innovation in apparel begins at the fiber level, ahead of garment construction, through material engineering rather than surface-level treatments. The company, which produces knits for sports and comfort-oriented apparel brands, said the fabrics are designed for what it called a sophisticated consumer attentive to both quality and material origin.
The use of collagen derived from upcycled fish scales reflects a broader industry push to source functional ingredients from byproducts of other industries, including seafood processing, as textile makers look to reduce reliance on synthetic and animal-derived inputs while adding cosmetic-style benefits to fabric. Bionic yarns incorporating marine collagen have gained traction in recent seasons among mills marketing to activewear, loungewear and intimate apparel brands seeking skin-friendly claims beyond basic moisture-wicking.
Trimalhas did not disclose pricing, minimum order quantities, or which brands, if any, have committed to using BIONIC 300 in upcoming collections. The company said further details on the PERFORMANCE collection are available through its website.
The distinction Trimalhas draws between BIONIC 300 and standard moisture-wicking synthetics centers on the source and behavior of the fiber itself. Where most performance jerseys rely on polyester or polyamide filaments engineered to move moisture away from the skin, UMORFIL is built on a cellulose base regenerated alongside marine collagen peptides, giving the yarn properties the company associates with skincare rather than pure athletic function.
Trimalhas said the fiber’s higher moisture regain compared with regular viscose stems from this collagen integration at the molecular level, rather than from a topical finish applied after knitting, which the company argues makes the benefits more durable across the life of the garment.
That framing fits into a wider pattern among European knit mills, which have increasingly marketed technical fabrics using language borrowed from cosmetics and wellness rather than sportswear alone. Terms such as “second skin,” “beauty fiber” and “recovery” have become common in mill marketing aimed at premium loungewear, base-layer and intimate apparel brands looking to differentiate beyond basic performance claims like quick-drying or four-way stretch.
Fish-scale-derived collagen, in particular, has drawn interest as a byproduct stream: seafood processors generate large volumes of scales and skin as waste, and textile chemists have worked to extract and stabilize the collagen peptides within them for use in fiber regeneration, cosmetics and, more recently, apparel.
Trimalhas, founded in Guimarães in Portugal’s northern textile region, positions itself as a fabric developer for sports and comfort-focused apparel brands rather than a mass-market commodity mill, emphasizing structure design and finish technology across its collections. The company’s PERFORMANCE line follows a similar release cadence to prior Trimalhas collections, which have paired seasonal fabric drops with sustainability credentials such as organic cotton certification, mulesing-free wool sourcing and biodegradability claims.
Beyond BIONIC 300, the PERFORMANCE collection’s other seven fabrics span a range of end uses. SAFE 101 and CLEMENTINE 100 target skin-sensitive and casual wear through organic cotton bases and hypoallergenic finishes, the latter certified under the Global Organic Textile Standard. ACTIVE 100 and FOCUS 700 are aimed squarely at technical activewear, built on polyamide and polyester bases respectively with cooling and water-resistant properties.
AMBER 100 combines recycled polyamide with an antibacterial finish for fancy jersey applications, while KINETIC 200 blends mulesing-free wool with cotton and elastane for garments requiring both natural fiber content and stretch recovery. RELAX 300 stands apart for its cannabidiol-based finish, which Trimalhas said releases gradually through friction against the skin to support relaxation, a claim that places it closer to the wellness and sleepwear categories than to conventional sportswear.
Whether the collagen and cannabidiol-based claims translate into commercial traction will likely depend on how brands substantiate the benefits to consumers, an area where third-party testing and clearer labeling have become more scrutinized across the apparel sector as regulators in the European Union move to tighten rules against unsubstantiated environmental and performance claims.
Trimalhas has not indicated whether BIONIC 300 or the other PERFORMANCE fabrics have undergone independent verification of their stated benefits.