We never stop innovating and this is also true in the textile industry. For several reasons and in different forms, there is research and development today to find ecological textiles. That's the good news !

A textile now attracts our attention and raises several questions. Today there is a fabric made from cow's milk protein. The question we ask ourselves is: can a textile made from cow's milk really be ecological?

Although this fabric in itself seems to have interesting ecological properties, cattle breeding has a grandiose impact on the environment.

Milk protein textile

QMilk , a German company, has developed a textile made from milk fiber. After removing impurities from milk, milk protein (casein) is extracted from it and then mixed with water and secret natural ingredients.

In addition to having sought-after properties (soft, smooth like silk, hypoallergenic and repels moisture), this fabric certainly has notable ecological advantages:

The impact of cattle farming

This is a question regularly raised. Cattle farming is one of the world's major polluters. This applies both to cattle intended for meat consumption and to dairy herds. But why is this so worrying? We explain the main points to you:

1- Land degradation

• A quarter of the land is used for cattle grazing
• 5% more is used for growing their food (fodder).
• It is therefore 30% of the land that is used for livestock farming but 70% of all arable land (suitable for agriculture).

2- Greenhouse gas emissions ( global warming )

• Animal farming emits as much or more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry
• We are talking about 18% of gases coming from livestock.
• This is linked to their breathing but also the associated deforestation.
• The main greenhouse gas comes from the fact that cows emit methane , the global warming potential of which is 23 times higher than CO2. Livestock production is responsible for 37% of methane emissions caused by humans.
• Livestock production also produces 65% of nitrous oxide , the global warming potential of which is no less than 296 times higher than CO2.

3- Loss of biodiversity

• It is estimated that livestock constitute almost 20% of the global animal biomass.
• Deforestation associated with livestock farming means wild animals have lost a third of their natural habitats.

So, is it ecological or not?

It's difficult to decide! On the one hand, this is a superb initiative to recycle a material that was destined to be thrown away, on the other hand, the priority here should be focused on reducing milk production! This is also what our brave 3R-V plans!

We believe that initiatives such as that of Orange Fiber which produces textiles made from post-consumer orange peels are even better! We will definitely come back to this in a future article!

Ecologically yours,