The Empress's new clothes

Found at iconoculture:

Mademoiselle Chi Chi is a new clothing line made from powdered milk. Developed by a Hanover microbiologist and fashion designer in partnership with the Bremen Fibre Institute, the cloth, called Qmilch, is reported to have positive effects on the skin.

The milk powder is mixed together with other ingredients in a type of meat grinder to produce a fibre that is made into yarn and then into a silky cloth to produce dresses with a luxury feel (and priced around €150-$200).

Bio-materials have an advantage over organic materials, which are limited in supply and could become scarce and expensive on the international market. The process alone could help to create more breakthroughs in the fashion industry, which is searching for cheaper and more environmentally friendly fabrics.

Sister company Qmilch has ambitions to take the fabric into other lines, including bed linens, T-shirts and automobile seats.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of the fashion industry on the environment and are keen to find alternatives to cheap throwaway goods.

Luxury is often undervalued in green products: Those that combine ethics and aesthetics will resonate with affluent consumers.

Now, I haven’t read deeply into the ins and outs of the fibre production but… It’s called a bio-material, and according to iconoculture has an advantage over an organic material…(as above). But am I missing something. Isn’t milk an organic material… produced by um… cows, eating pasture, on land?

I can just see it, high end fashion labels touting fabric from award winning jersey cows.