60% of all fashion materials are made from plastic. This startup makes clothes from kelp instead

60% of all fashion materials are made from plastic. This startup makes clothes from kelp instead

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, approximately 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from plastic. Those polyester stretchy pants you love so much? They can take up to 200 years to naturally decompose — the same as a plastic straw. But science is embracing new technologies to make our clothes from materials that are biodegradable and less taxing on the environment from start to finish. One such example is Keel Labs. The startup was founded by Aleks Gosiewski and Tessa Callaghan while they were studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Kelp sits off of a Scottish shoreline. Photo by Ben Wicks on Unsplash The two bonded over their shared frustration with textile waste and began the search for a substance that met their criteria: It had to be able to be turned into a fiber, be an abundant and naturally occurring resource, and have existing supply chains. Eventually, they turned to the ocean, and that’s where they found their match in kelp. “…