Got milk?

Razzan Nakhlawi Sunday 15 July 2012 20.00 BST

The future of fashion? Photograph: Placbo/Flickr

At present, the textile industry relies heavily upon oil byproducts, or withering natural resources to meet a demand that is bubbling over currently an immense 1800 litres of water is needed to manufacture a single cotton t-shirt. Now Qmilch (aptly named after Q for quality and the German word for milk, milch) presents itself as a novel answer to the industrys dilemmas. It is a fabric created from milk which is allowed to ferment, reducing a milk protein called casein into a powder. It is then heated and mixed with a few natural additives like beeswax into strands that can be woven into a fabric. Now if there were any qualms about how ecological the manufacture of a new textile would be, the biochemist/fashiondesigner/mastermind behind Qmilch, Anke Domaske affirms that, Water consumption during the process is minimized to a maximum of 2 litres. There is no waste in the whole process; all ingredients are used in the fibre.

Qmilch even provides a useful output for the abundance of expired dairy we chuck out on a daily basis, We also take a waste product from the dairy industry, as we use the 20% of -Anke Domaske, creator of Qmilch. cows milk unfit for human consumption. But although she told Reuters, "it feels like silk and it doesn't smell, whether we would jump at the chance to buy a plush, designer jacket made from Bill-down-the-roads rancid butter, is a different matter completely. Qmilch is the offshoot of milk fibre production that has been looming around since the 1930s, albeit abandoning the chemicals previously used in the 60-hour manufacture process.

There is no waste in the whole process.

So it may be a rehash of an older concept, but Domaskes search for such a versatile fabric was inspired by her cancer-stricken father who suffered skin problems from irritating and non-organic fabrics whilst going through treatment. "There are so many people who really suffer just by wearing normal clothing," Domaske told The Associated Press. "I wanted to find a way to help them."

Under the scanning electron microscope.

On top of its non-allergenic qualities, it is even claimed that the proteins that make up the textile retain antibacterial and anti-aging amino acids. Caseins biochemistry is substantial to the claims, as it appears to assemble into naturally-occurring fibrous proteins, called amyloid fibrils, when in the blood vessels. It is said Domaskes use of body-indigenous design dips its toes in the waters of biomimicry. By examining the makeup of matter found in nature and how those structures relate to the functions they carry out, the purpose of biomimicry is to utilise these principles for the improvement of man-made items, like Qmilch.

At the moment, the clothes are biodegradable; reducing landfill space, but it is thought the fibres can be used again, depending on the finishing. The casein fibres are considered thermoplastic, meaning when heated the fibres turn to a homogenized liquid but they can also harden when cooled. Frozen thermoplastics become brittle and fracture typically to glass. These qualities are reversible, so they can be heated, reshaped and frozen forevermore- which makes thermoplastics recyclable. The head of the Textile Research Association, Klaus Jansen says, "We know that everything that is based on oil has a limit, that materials like cotton that take up a lot of land, water and chemicals are limited, so we need to think about how we in produce fabrics and textiles in the future."
Anke and the Qmilch.

If alternative textiles such as Qmilch are an indication of where an industry plagued by antifur activism, rampant globalisation and a carbon footprint the size of Wales, is going- should we have to concern ourselves with the imminent? Fashion feeds a growing industry and ranks textile and clothing as the worlds secondbiggest economic activity for intensity of trade. Stiff competition forces down costs while working conditions, more often than not in developing countries, are far from ideal, Lakshmi Challa, head of Apparel Technology at Bangalore University tells us, But the environment

pays a heavy price too. To improve conditions for workers and stem pollution, textile manufacturers are launching the first initiatives built around sustainable development. It may just be that green is the new black.