Eindhoven designer Jalila Essaïdi has turned manure into haute couture, creating a poo-based fabric that has been used to make clothes (+ movie).
The bio-textile is one of several different materials Essaïdi manufactured from recycled cow dung, including bio-plastics and bio-paper.
The designer pursued the project, titled Mestic, with her BioArtLab as a way of addressing the global manure surplus, which is responsible for excessive amounts of harmful phosphorus and nitrogen in surface and groundwater.
Animal manure could be a valuable resource for design, according to Jalila Essaïdi. Photograph by Cleo Goossens
"This is not the first time that scientists are looking for ways to solve the manure problem," said the designer. "But it is the first time that manure is being considered as a valuable resource."
Related story: The Shit Evolution in Milan presents dung as a "beautiful" material

According to Essaïdi the materials are biodegradable and perform in much the same way as plastic derived from fossil fuels. The degradability can also be altered in the lab, creating materials that last for different periods of time depending on their end use.
The degradability of these materials can be altered in the BioArtLab according to their use
The potential of dung as a material was also investigated at this year's Milan design fair, which included tableware, flooring and furniture made from recycled poo.
Essaïdi is currently planning ...