Later he replaced material (7)
I believe the answer is:
leather
'material' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'later he replaced' is the wordplay.
'replaced' indicates anagramming the letters.
'later'+'he'='laterhe'
'laterhe' anagrammed gives 'LEATHER'.
(Other definitions for leather that I've seen before include "Treated animal skin" , "durable material" , "Thrash" , "Flog; hide" , "Material made from animal skin" .)