The Future of Fashion Grows in a Pond
These startups are developing biodegradable yarns and dyes from algae as a sustainable solution to fast fashion.
McCurdy’s collaborative dress with designer Philip Lim, featuring algae bioplastic fronds sewn onto a biodegradable plant fiber layer.
Source: One X One
Nutritious and fast-growing, algae already has a following as an alternative protein among health fanatics. A new generation of sustainable fashion startups want us to wear it too.
The fashion industry produces more than 100 billion garments annually, about 14 for every person on Earth. Most end up in landfills or clogging rivers and beaches in developing countries. Only a fraction are ever recycled. Fashion is responsible for up to 10% of humanity’s emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide, more than international air travel and shipping combined.