Fashion and bio-sourced materials: 'You could possibly eat the final product'

A person shows a black fabric made from banana leaves at Premiere Vision Paris, a fair dedicated to the companies supplying materials and services for the fashion and luxury industries. Photo: AFP

Sneakers made from banana or pineapple leaves, dresses from nettles or fish scales – the search for sustainable materials has taken the fashion industry to some wild places.

Experts warn these new textiles are not a quick fix for fashion's enormous problems with over-consumption and waste, but may be a necessary step in developing cleaner technologies.