Video | Waste to fabric: Taiwanese manufacturer turns discarded oyster shells into clothes

Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells everywhere. Instead of viewing it as waste, some of his neighbours burned oyster shells and pasted them onto the wall. The house then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

The idea inspired Wang as he worked with a research institute to experiment making fabric out of the oyster shell residue. Today, he turns nearly 100 tonnes of shells annually into a new kind of fabric called “seawool”.