Canadian-Iranian designer Roya Aghighi has created clothes made from algae that turn carbon dioxide into oxygen via photosynthesis, as a more sustainable alternative to fast fashion.
Named Biogarmentry, the clothes are the proof of concept for a textile made with living, photosynthetic cells. The project has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2019 in the sustainable design category.

In a collaboration between the University of British Colombia (UBC) and Emily Carr Univeristy, Aghighi's biofabricated textiles are living organisms that respirate by turning carbon dioxide into oxygen.
"Biogarmentry suggests a complete overhaul rather than tinkering at the edges," said Aghighi.
"The living aspect of the textile will transform users' relationship to their clothing, shifting collective behaviours around our consumption-oriented habits towards forming a sustainable future." To make the fabric for Biogarmentry, chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a type of single-cell green algae, are spun together with nano polymers.
The result, which feels like linen, is "the first non woven living and photosynthetic textile" to be created.

Wearers would need to take care of their garment as they would a plant in order to keep them alive, rather than engaging in the environmentally destructive practice of making synthetic clothes and discarding them after a few uses.
Biogarmentry is activated by being exposed to sunlight. Rather than wash their clothes, the owner would jus...