We may have the option of wearing shirts made from potato harvest waste and jeans made from banana plant fibers.
I prefer natural fibers in clothing. Cotton is my fiber of choice, but I also opt for goods made of wool and flax (linen). That range of options is likely to grow in the coming years if fledgling fiber firms succeed with their ambitious business plans.
Fast forward a few years, and we may have the option of wearing shirts made from potato harvest waste and jeans made from banana plant fibers.
A London-based material science company announced last April the development of the world’s first textile fiber from potato harvest waste. The company, Fibe, said it had achieved a breakthrough by creating yarn from potato fibers. Fibe founders claim that the stems and leaves of the potato are “the world’s largest untapped agricultural feedstock.”
Fibe uses leftover stems and leaves, which are inedible, to make its fibers. The company estimates 150 million tons of this waste are left to rot. It optimistically claims its patent-pending technology could be used to supplant 70% of the world’s natural fiber demand.
There is no doubt there is limitless feedstock for this effort, but how do potato fibers compare to other fibers used in apparel? Fibe said potato fibers have a similar diameter to cotton, outperforming hemp and linen. This allows them to be used in applications ranging from heavy canvas to a light, breathable shirt, according to Fibe.
But perhaps the biggest benefit, per Fibe, is that potato fiber production has the potential to use 99.7% less water and result in 82% fewer carbon emissions. These are indeed lofty goals, so it will be interesting to see how Fibe follows through.
The move to use banana plant fibers is further along than the potato effort. Multiple companies launched production during the past few years. A Swiss company, Qwstion, collaborated with a yarn manufacturer in Taiwan to produce a line of fabrics made from the waste of Philippine banana plants. Called Bananatex, the fabric is a durable canvas. Last summer, Qwstion teamed with luxury fashion brand Balenciago to debut a line of sneakers made from banana fibers.
Also, the New Zealand operations of Dole, the global fruit conglomerate, has partnered with an apparel company in the Philippines, to produce garments made of banana plant fibers.
Another percolating project in sustainability might shake up the cotton industry as we know it. Galy Co., a Boston-based startup formed in 2019, claims its lab-produced product, Literally Cotton, could drastically reduce the land, water and fertilizer needed to produce cotton on a large scale. Galy takes cells from a cotton plant and through its process can grow cotton in the lab. It may be a few years before this type of cotton is commercialized, but Galy is already working with a Japanese medical product company and has the financial backing of several major apparel companies. Time Magazine named Literally Cotton one of the Best Inventions of 2024.
Source: https://www.farmprogress.com/