Milk yarn

DueDiLatte is an Italian company that produces sustainable yarns and fabrics based on Milk and other natural materials. It has developed Milk Yarn: "Filato Di Latte" from Milk protein.

The idea of creating a new textile fiber starting from Milk for disposal was based on an old patent of the 1930s that synthesize a fiber from Casein. Every year the Italian Milk market produces around 30 million waste, and the fashion sector is one of the most polluting industries. Therefore the company combined the principle of circular economy and environmental sustainability with production activities that has a very low environmental impact.

The fiber is obtained through a sustainable and eco-friendly recycling process. Milk Yarn is obtained using an advanced bio-engineering technique. The Milk is heated to a specific temperature (approx 50° C), and citric acid is added to it to separate the whey from the protein. The protein part is known as Casein, which is a noble protein that is isolated and denatured afterward. The amino acids present in the protein are then combined with an innovative, viable solution that is transformed into the fiber, yarn, and later into a unique textile.

The fabric from Milk Yarn is claimed to be chemical-free, and is naturally antibacterial, hypoallergenic, thermoregulatory, and is extremely soft and silky. The dyes used on the fabric are extracted from natural sources like coffee, red onions, and blueberries. It takes approximately one and a half liters of Milk to make a T-shirt, and for producing one kilogram of milk fiber, only one liter of water is needed.

The company has been a partner of Expo 2015 in the Italian pavilion and winner of the Gammadonna prize as the most innovative product awarded in 2018 by QVC Italia. It has also collaborated with national and international strategic partners such as the Intesa San Paolo innovation center and the Ellen Macarthur Foundation.

Currently, the company is producing T-shirts and Baby outfits and is available in Italy. Furthermore, with the R&D team, the company is dedicating its time and resources to become a reference point in the technological field for the sustainable textile sector, creating new innovative textile fibers starting from agro-food surpluses such as coffee and rice yarn.

The solution can benefit the fabric and fashion industries as well as the dairy industry to manage their dairy leftovers.