Wool is a popular clothing material due to its durability, warmth, and easiness to dye. But with changing perceptions towards animal products, a group of Colombian students, from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, have devised an alternative.

Naming their product Woocoa, their aim is to make sheep farming for wool unnecessary.  Woocoa is made from hemp and coconut fibres that are treated with mushroom enzymes. The result is a softer, wool-like material.

woocoa

While the team has a long journey ahead before they get the exact properties they want for the material, they believe there’s a commercial future for Woocoa. The product certainly resembles wool, and can be stretched and woven in similar ways.

In recent years, designers and clothing manufacturers have partnered with biotech to begin offering more animal-free alternatives: synthetic spider silk, artificial duck and goose down, high-tech faux fur, and vegan leather derived from everything from pineapples to wine-making waste. But there is currently no alternative wool on the market, something which might soon change.