Potato yarn may cut the fashion industry’s environmental footprint

Potato yarn may cut the fashion industry’s environmental footprint

Potato fibres can be made into soft balls that resemble cotton

Fibe

Fabric made from waste potato plants could offer a more sustainable alternative to pure cotton, as pressure grows on the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impact.

Potatoes pose a headache for farmers. The tubers are harvested and eaten, but the above-ground plant contains the poison solanine, so can’t be used for fertiliser or animal feed. Farmers usually pulverise or incinerate this matter before potatoes are harvested.

Now, UK start-up Fibe wants to avoid this by extracting fibres from potato stems to make a sustainable fabric. In…

Read the original article here