In a children’s fable, a young woman was given the task of spinning straw into gold, an impossible challenge. A study commissioned by the Laudes Foundation says a real world alternative is available – conversion of food waste, such as rice straw and banana stems, into natural fibers for use in apparel.
“Here is an incredible opportunity to create value out of waste,” said Anita Chester, head of materials for the foundation. The study looked at 40 crops and eight countries in South and Southeast Asia and concluded there is a large enough quantity of material available to support commercial-scale production, potentially by blending the residues with synthetic and natural fibers to create “agro-residue-based textile fibers,” with similar characteristics as existing materials.
More than 60 percent of the fiber now used by the fashion industry are derived from petroleum, says the study, Spinning Future Threads. Cotton, the second most widely used textile, often is grown with intensive irrigation and pesticide use.