Polyester From Pollution … European Fashion Is Getting Green!

European start-ups are on a path to completely change one of the world’s most polluting industries – fashion.

Such as French start-up Fairbric. According to Benoit Illy –  co-founder and CEO – a considerable portion of fashion’s emissions – up to 40% – come from the manufacture of polyester. He and co-founder Tawfiq Nasr Allah – both chemists – target to replace existing polyester-producing processes which use fossil fuels, with a new technology.
Then there is  Aniela Hoitink – founder of Dutch company MycoTEX – who favours a more biological lifecycle, with garments grown and later decomposed in the way trees grow and drop leaves. She is working with mycelium – the feeding threads of mushrooms – to produce custom-fitted, on-demand clothing that reduces waste and cuts chemical use.

London-based Post Carbon Lab intends to minimize emissions altogether. They want to make sure that fashion and design have a positive effect on the climate by turning fabrics into carbon-absorbing surfaces. It is stated to be realized by using photosynthetic coating technology which involves introducing microorganisms, such as algae, to the fabric. The resulting textile contains live organisms which could then absorb climate-changing carbon dioxide.