Australian brand Nanollose created a sweater made entirely from coconut waste and plans to use agricultural waste as a form of cellulose for fabrics. Growing outside the coconut trend, Orange Fiber, a brand based in Italy, turns by-products from citrus juice production into light-weight yarn. This material played a starring role in a collaborative capsule collection for luxury clothing and accessories company, Salvatore Ferragamo, in 2017, per WWD. All of these fabrics are natural and champion sustainability as they're made from plant-based waste materials.
Cellulose-based fibers, as they are known, can be safely biodegraded if the other materials combined with them aren't harmful, according to Independent. Considering that the fashion industry is predicted to use a quarter of the world's carbon budget by 2050, per Down To Earth, these fabrics may point to a more sustainable future for fashion and urge label-cutters everywhere to check what their clothes are actually made of.
If you need a little help learning more about sustainably made clothing, apps like Good On You give ethical brand ratings based on their sustainability initiatives as well as labor policies. If there is one takeaway, it's that you can eat your fruit, but you can wear it too.
