Regenerative Underwear from Seed to Soil

AN R&D PROJECT SUPPORTED BY THE BRITISH COUNCIL AND UAL’S FASHION, TEXTILE & TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE

ABOUT

final prototype #fb-1a- 160-100%-0810-cc

This collaborative project between Pico (UK), Kaskom (India) and Mila (India) focused on the design and production of a prototype of 100% organic and regenerative ‘desi’ cotton underwear, fully grown and produced within the Tamil Nadu state, with the aim that the garment is fully biodegradable at the end of its life.

It is estimated that nearly 5,000 tonnes of underwear are disposed of in U.S. landfills each day, and it is probable that the situation in the UK is not dissimilar. Through our research we aim to develop a range of biodegradable underwear without elastane, that can be fully composted at the end of life.

Working with Kaskom and their desi (indigenous Indian variety) cotton not only eliminates the need for irrigation, saving the 360 gallons of water typically required to grow a single pair of pants, but also supports regenerative farming methods which benefit the farmers, the soil and the environment.

Additionally, growing the cotton locally—close to the processing units and Mila's solar-powered factory—reduces the transportation distance to within an 85km radius, significantly lowering the carbon footprint of each garment.

We are now looking for further funding to take this research to the next stage - exploring the implementation of on farm spinning and ginning machines and developing industry firsts compostable bulk threads compostable waistband alternatives.

Our long term dream would also be to sale our compostable / regenerative and carbon neutral underwear by sea by cargo ship..watch this space.

Please do see our analysis report and short video to see where we are at with our research so far.

WATCH OUR SHORT VIDEO ABOUT THE PROJECT HERE:

READ OUR FULL ANALYSIS REPORT HERE: