Researchers at universities worldwide have developed techniques for creating uses for otherwise wasted items, like chicken feathers and cotton plant stalks.
Some of these techniques can be licensed from the universities, and some are freely in the public domain. Can you put these ideas into practice, making something out of “nothing”?
Pulling together several different processes, a scientist in India is proposing ideas to make use of all of the cotton plant: fiber, stalk, seed and all. The concept paper was submitted to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Read about it in The Hindu.
Nebraska (USA) researchers are working specifically on fabrics, working with chicken feathers and rice straw. This research was released at the annual conference of the American Chemical Society in 2006. From Cnet Future Tech, via Business Filter.
So consider alternative products and alternative fibers.
If you know of a resource to help people tap into these concept papers and research results for their businesses, let me know!
[Photo of cotton plant in India by gflaig, from Flickr.]
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