EVER imagined your body being wrapped in a shirt made up of “bad” milk? Disgusted just by the thought of it? Well, be no more!
Frustrated by the scenario where food gets wasted even before it is consumed, an eco-conscious duo invented a [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] technology to re-engineer spoiled milk into environmental friendly products to help in reducing the carbon footprint released from food waste.
The idea behind this incredible invention came from Robert Luo, the founder and CEO of a biotechnology company based in Los-Angeles – Mi Terro.
According to an article published on the Waste 360 website, it all began when Luo visited his uncle’s dairy farm two years ago in China where he witnessed the amount of food waste that comes from agriculture. He was in particular very disturbed to see the amount of milk being wasted in the farm. It was then that his uncle turned to him for a solution to stop the milk wastage which was a result of an inefficient production process.
Upon returning from China, Luo got in touch with his childhood friend who is now the co-founder of Mi-Terro – Daniel Zhuang. He has an educational background in material science and chemistry. They started studying the issue in depth and came up with a solution to create a dynamic new circular economy from agricultural waste, in this case – milk it is.
The process of converting excess milk to an eco-friendly fibre starts with the extraction of casein protein found in “bad” milk which is then span into fibre. This process called “Pro-Act” (Protein Activation) was invented by the duo just within the first three months of brainstorming for ideas.
This truly environmental friendly fibre was the basis to the company’s first product – Mi Terro Milk t-shirt which is said to have all the desired quality of a comfy t-shirt. According to its website, the Milk t-shirt is described to be three times softer than cotton, breathable, stretchy, odour free and moisture-wicking besides providing a cool feeling.
Luo and Zhuang’s technology is not only restricted to milk but can also be applied to all protein-based waste in future as the process is very economical and is entirely non-toxic with no chemicals used during production. According to Waste 360, the process of producing this eco-friendly fibre uses 60% lesser water than organic cotton.
Mi Terro has partnered with many other world’s largest companies to use its sustainable technology to end food waste related problems to protect the planet and is looking forward to more eco-friendly collaborations. [/ihc-hide-content]
