article thumbnail

Are Next-Gen Synthetic Fibers the Future of Sustainable Textiles?

Modern Farmer

Textiles are a major source of microplastics in the ocean, where they weave their way into the food chain, causing untold harms to marine life. There is nowhere near enough fiber recycling infrastructure in the US, where 85 percent of used clothes and other textiles get sent to the landfill. percent of the world’s farmland but uses 4.7

Textiles 102
article thumbnail

Can Mushrooms Help Extinguish Toxic Waste?

Modern Farmer

Her Belgian start-up cultivates mycelium—the thread-like root structure of fungus—using the plastic- and toxin-laden stubs as fodder. A designer by training, Speyer stumbled on fungi while searching for a sustainable and easy-to-cultivate material. But, so far, efforts have been limited mostly to small-scale and trial applications.