Tag: Fashion

Outgrown sustainable children’s shoes dissolve when cooked. A short hairstyle can be transformed with environmentally-friendly extensions. But making bespoke clothing more sustainable presents a challenge. Enter an interdisciplinary US-based research team and its revolutionary new knit-dress. A three-dimensional template is created using high-tech yarns and computerised knitting. Next, a programmable robotic arm with a hairdryer-like extension shapes the dress...

A glassy mousse-like mineral powder can insulate houses without using oil-based materials. Shoe soles, however, are still mainly composed of plastic. Enter a Canadian startup aiming to cushion our steps sustainably while recycling a precious resource: wine corks. After years of research, its product is now ready to hit the market. Both recycled corks and the waste from cork...

Sweet coffee cups provide a solution to throwaway culture. Coffee grounds, meanwhile, are an effective substitute in the construction industry. And as a startup from Ukraine has recently proved, they have other uses too. In this case, as spectacle frames. The team collects the grounds from cafes in Kyiv. After they’ve been dried, the grounds are mixed with natural...

Artificial body parts can be tailor-made for extra comfort. For women who have had mammary tissue removed because of cancer, there are bras with built-in prostheses. Still, these are not always comfortable. A London-based architect, a cancer survivor herself, teamed up with underwear specialists to create one-cup lingerie and swimwear. Because not every woman chooses breast reconstruction, and losing...

With a simple box, cars could be safe from theft. Tags on consumer goods are increasingly fitted with an integrated wireless module, which triggers an alarm if the item is stolen. Still, the mix of paper, electronics and adhesives used to make them is equally alarming. Now, a London-based startup is hoping to combat the hard-to-recycle combination with a...

Oyster shells are becoming fashionable. Materials made from willow fibres even protect against harmful UV rays. Now, a former female Masters student in Germany has developed a yarn that keeps water at bay even when immersed in it. Her invention, which is made from recycled and modified plastic, is also completely free from harmful forever-chemicals. Additionally, it protects against...

Some stretch jeans are biodegradable, while others use plant-based indigo blue. A good match for the sweaters and T-Shirts manufactured by a Massachusetts-based startup. Its founder’s ocean-inspired clothing line is made from oyster shells and granules from recycled plastic. The shells are ground into a fine powder, blended with the plastic granulate and spun into yarn. This again is...

Maze-like paths keeps insects away from plants. Mosquitoes aren’t just annoying; they are also carriers of disease. Sometimes simple concepts are the best. An idea that an Alabama research team has developed to create a material that protects humans from mosquito bites. The insects can bend their piercing and sucking proboscises at 90 degree angles, penetrating even the thickest...