There are products that completely revolutionize the fashion industry for their eco-friendly approach and innovative vision. Although the fashion industry has made strides over the past few years in terms of sustainable clothing production, there is still a long way to go. Thankfully, a handful of designers are coming up with incredibly innovative solutions to really change the concept of eco-fashion. One such visionary is Canadian-Iranian designer Roya Aghighi, whose new line of clothing, Biogarmentry, is made from algae that turns carbon dioxide into oxygen via photosynthesis.
Made in collaboration with University of British Colombia (UBC) and Emily Carr Univeristy, the Biogarmentry line is a revolutionary design within the world of eco-fashion. While most sustainable designers are searching for fabrics that don’t harm the environment, Aghighi went straight to the environment for her unique fabric, using living, photosynthetic cells in its design.
The biofabricated textiles are made with a type of single-cell green algae called clothichlamydomonas reinhardtii. To create a solid textile, the algae is spun together with nano polymers. The result is a light, woven eco-textile akin to linen that photosynthesizes like plants.
Currently a designer in residence at Material Experience Lab in the Netherlands, Aghighi explains that her inspiration for the design was to cut out the search for high-quality fabrics that don’t harm the planet, instead opting to create what could be the fabric of the future.
“Biogarmentry suggests a complete overhaul rather than tinkering at the edges,” she said. “The living aspect of the textile will transform users’ relationship to their clothing, shifting collective behaviors around our consumption-oriented habits towards forming a sustainable future.”
In addition to its sustainable design, the textile is also easy-to-maintain. To keep it clean, the garments just need to be watered once in a while, just like real live plants. When the garment has reached the end of its life cycle, which, for the moment, is just a month, it can be used for composting.
Source: INHABITAT
