The Agraloop Bio-Refinery is a new frontier in materials science. The ground-breaking technology, developed by Circular Systems S.P.C., transforms food waste into bio-fibers which can be easily employed in the fashion industry.
In a recent interview Isaac Nichelson, Circular Systems CEO and co-founder, stated that the fashion industry is becoming more and more “extractive and destructive”, consuming finite resources at a pace which is likely to prove to be deeply damaging.
That is why Circular Systems decided to create the Agraloop, a regenerative system which uses plant-based chemistry to transform natural waste into precious natural fibers. Thanks to this innovative process, banana peels, pineapple leaves and vegetable stalks can be turned into BioFibre™ to be woven into sustainable, eco-friendly pieces of clothing.
Through the Agraloop, waste materials from the food industry could generate up to 250 million tons of fiber each year, and farmers all around the world may be able to earn extra income acquiring their own Agraloop system and creating fibers from the waste they usually throw away.
Transforming the commitment to sustainability into a source of income could prove eco-friendliness to be beneficial for both the environment and the industry, overcoming the resistance of those who believe that being eco-conscious is an obstacle to profit.
The values behind the Agraloop are sustainability, nature and regeneration – and the new technology aims to restore a fashion world in which most of the fibers are naturally sourced. This goal mirrors a turnaround in the practices of the industry, and meets the need to reduce the environmental impact of clothing production.
Making the regenative production of low-cost, highly-scalable bio-materials possible, the Agraloop is contrasting pollution as well. On average, each kg of food harvested corresponds to 1.5 kg of agricultural residue. Turning waste into a resource prevents large amounts of plant remains from being disposed in dangerous ways: when plant trimmings are left to rot they generate significant amounts of greenhouse gasses, and when they are burnt they cause air pollution, which annually leads to 250k deaths.
In this scenario, the Agraloop offers us the opportunity to address different issues with a single choice. Companies can rely on natural materials and please the growing eco-conscious market, and farmers can make up their wages while limiting their own environmental footprint.
Sustainability becomes tempting, and we hope that many fashion companies will explore this new instrument soon.
