In India, a lingerie brand led by two sisters is emphasizing renewable materials like corn fiber and sugar beet to promote sustainable fashion. Dubbed Intimate Queen, the brand also aims to be body-inclusive to embrace underserved women. “The lingerie industry lacked the best fit, lift and support as well as products that were environment friendly,” […]
In Taiwan, banana-based textiles company Bananatex has produced a compostable jersey fabric made from the stalks of Abacá banana plants. Bananatex tells design publication dezeen, which shortlisted the fabric for its material innovation award, that the fabric has among the highest tearing and abrasion strength found in nature and could replace cotton and synthetic fabrics. […]
In Pennsylvania, climate tech startup Tandem Repeat is developing a textile fiber inspired by squids. Dubbed Squitex, the fiber is produced using protein fermentation and molecular farming. Molecularly, it is similar to a silk-like protein found in squid tentacles. The material is soft to the touch and can be blended with cotton, linen, wool and […]
In Massachusetts, Long Wharf Supply Co has developed a process to convert oyster shells and polyethylene terephthalate bottles into sweaters. Long Wharf Supply extracts calcium carbonate powder from the shells and processes the powder with pellets from recycled PET. The combination is then extruded into thread that is spun with cotton or lambswool. Roughly speaking, […]
In Mumbai, India, a startup called Bioleather has launched a new vegan leather made from tomato skin. The company uses a patented process that extracts lycopene from the peels. The lycopene is then mixed with cotton, organic material from the tomato and its plant, and an unnamed biopolymer to produce the “flexible, durable, and ecological” […]
In Italy, ultra-luxury fashion brand Fendi and architect Kengo Kuma have jointly designed men’s accessories that feature biobased materials and are inspired by Japanese craftmanship. The collaboration produced versions of Fendi’s Peekaboo bag, Baguette Soft Trunk and Flow Sneakers using materials such as waranshi—a type of paper made from cotton and tree bark fibers that […]
By: Dr. Randy Simpson Expert, Lee Enterprises Consulting Special to The Digest Cyanobacteria are a group of photosynthetic bacteria that can live in diverse environments, such as soil, water, and rocks. Handled properly, they can have several beneficial effects on crop growth, including helping control plant disease, reducing pest damage, increasing crop quality, and improving […]
In Italy, medical supplies company Corman has codeveloped a bioplastic tampon applicator in collaboration with Slovenian sanitary supply firm, Tosama. The applicators, which are made by injection-molding waste from wheat, corn and sugarcane, took a decade to develop and will be sold under the Organyc brand, beginning in the third quarter. “Tosama is one of […]
In Arizona, University of Arizona researchers are teaming up with Bridgestone Americas Inc. to develop a new variety of natural rubber from a source that is more sustainable and can be grown in the forbidding conditions of the arid Southwest. The $70 million, five-year project is focused on growing and processing guayule (pronounced why-OO-lee), a […]
In the UK, Anglian Water Services Ltd (AWS) produces over 150,000 dry metric tonnes of raw wastewater derived sludge per annum that is treated at 10 regional sludge treatment centres. AWS treats the sludge using advanced anaerobic digestion technologies and biogas is produced which they currently use as a renewable fuel in combined heat & […]
