Clothes don't grow on trees or in laboratories - or do they? Welcome to the 21st century! The creation of organic clothing has certainly taken this direction. From pineapple leather and orange peel fabrics to lab-grown biotech silk, here are some of the most innovative new fashion materials and the bright minds pulling out all the stops to make these sustainable fabrics the future favorites in the world of eco-fashion.
Once upon a time, some people thought pineapple on Hawaiian pizza was strange. Back then, no one thought of making fabric and clothing from pineapple. Pizza Hawaii still exists, but times are changing. And so the pineapple has made a name for itself as an eco-friendly player in the world of eco-fashion.
Carmen Hijosa, ethical entrepreneur and founder of Piñatex, was deeply shocked by the toxic environmental impact of the mass production of leather goods. So she decided to research and find an innovative sustainable alternative to produce ecological fashion. She experimented for seven years and finally found a material for eco-fashion that can be commercially produced, has a positive social and economic impact and has a small environmental footprint throughout its lifetime.
Piñatex, a natural and innovative sustainable material made from pineapple leaf fiber. The pineapple leaf is peeled so that the long and stringy natural fibers can be used. The best thing about pineapple fabric is that the leaf residue can be recycled as a nutrient-rich fertilizer, which means that no waste is produced during Piñatex production. The fabric itself can be processed into ecological clothing, accessories and shoes, for example, or even furniture and car upholstery.
Another inspiring development in the world of eco-fashion is items made from food waste. Pineapple leaves are not the only plants leading the innovative evolution of eco fashion: Citrus fruit waste also deserves recognition.
Adriana Santanocito and Enrica Arena are the founders of Orange Fiber. They founded the world's first brand to produce eco-fashion from citrus fruit waste. The Italian-based company manufactures its fabrics by processing the remains of citrus fruits after industrial pressing to produce organic clothing:
- First, a patented technology is used to extract the “pastazzo”, the white and often stringy pulp of the citrus fruit.
- The cellulose from the citrus fruit is then spun into high-quality, innovative sustainable fibers, which are then used to produce the eco-fashion.
This has enormous potential for fair and ecological clothing. In Italy alone, over 700,000 tons of citrus fruit waste are produced every year. This illustrates the potential of this natural and already widely available resource to be processed into a sustainable material. Since the company's inception, Orange Fiber has developed a variety of ecological fabrics and apparel, including twill, which is made from 68.9 percent acetylated orange cellulose fiber and 31.1 percent silk; and jersey, which is made from 94 percent acetylated orange cellulose fiber and 6 percent spandex. When the fabric is made of 100 percent citrus, it feels particularly soft and silky.
Eco-fashion is boring? Quite the opposite! After all, cutting-edge technology is involved. Bolt Threads is a California-based start-up company that produces innovative sustainable fabrics and therefore ecological clothing made from microsilk. This is a tear-resistant fabric.
After analyzing the properties of natural silk, Bolt Thread succeeded in creating a protein that is similar to natural silk fibers. Using a fermentation process that requires only yeast, sugar and water, the company was able to produce its innovation for eco-fashion in large quantities. The artificial silk protein is then spun into microsilk, which in turn can be woven into yarn for ecological clothing. Since the discovery, the Bolt Threads team has been working closely with innovative brands such as Patagonia and Stella McCartney to create alternative eco-fashion using this ground-breaking technology.
Image credits:
Header image: Bolt Threads (PR)
Image of Carmen Hijosa: ©David Stewart (Ananas Anam (PR))
Image of two scientists at Bolt Threads in California: Bold Threads (PR)