Biomimicry
The first level of biomimicry is the mimicking of natural form. For instance, you may mimic the hooks and barbules in an owl's feather to create a fabric that opens anywhere along its surface. Or you can imitate the frayed edges that grant the owl its silent flight. Copying feather design is just the beginning, because it may or may not yield something sustainable.
Deeper biomimicry adds a second level, which is the mimicking of natural process, or how it is made. The owl feather self-assembles at body temperature without toxins or high pressures, by way of nature's chemistry. The unfurling field of green chemistry attempts to mimic these benign recipes.
At the third level is the mimicking of natural ecosystems. The owl feather is gracefully nested---it's part of an owl that is part of a forest that is part of a biome that is part of a sustaining biosphere. In the same way, our owl-inspired fabric must be part of a larger economy that works to restore rather than deplete the earth and its people. If you make a bioinspired fabric using green chemistry, but you have workers weaving it in a sweatshop, loading it onto pollution-spewing trucks, and shipping it long distances, you've missed the point.