https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49550263
It's a short article describing the strange materials people are experimenting with to make clothing. There is mushrooms, pineapple, PVC, and others. It's light on details (maybe there are other better articles with more technical information), but I thought it was interesting and worth sharing and discussing.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 14 2019, @11:06PM (3 children)
My idea as well. Hemp takes far less water and far FAR less fertilizer to grow than cotton. And, hemp is sustainable, in that equal quality/weight clothing made from hemp lasts about seven times as long as it's cotton counterpart. Hemp is also sustainable in that it helps to build soil, rather than depleting the soil. I don't think there are any down sides to hemp fabrics.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 15 2019, @11:48AM (2 children)
Hemp is a coarse and non-stretchy fabric.
If it were a real alternative to cotton in general, we'd already be wearing it.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday September 15 2019, @01:05PM (1 child)
Citations? https://oecotextiles.wordpress.com/2010/06/02/characteristics-of-hemp/ [wordpress.com]
The real reason you're not wearing it, is the big corporates haven't worked out how to capitalize on it. Far better to sell seven T-shirts, than one that may well last longer than all seven cotton shirts.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 16 2019, @05:51PM
Even cotton T-shirts outlast the logos printed on them. Lasting 7 times as long won't extend the usable lifetime (of the printed on advertising.) We'll need to research better T-shirt printing techniques first, and maybe slower growing kids.