Potato yarn may cut the fashion industry’s environmental footprint

Fabric made from waste potato plants could offer a more sustainable alternative to pure cotton, as pressure grows on the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impact.

Potatoes pose a headache for farmers. The tubers are harvested and eaten, but the above-ground plant contains the poison solanine, so can’t be used for fertiliser or animal feed. Farmers usually pulverise or incinerate this matter before potatoes are harvested.

Now, UK start-up Fibe wants to avoid this by extracting fibres from potato stems to make a sustainable fabric. In…