The process of manufacturing and disposing of used clothing has become a major contributor to landfills and pollution. There is a movement in the fashion industry to develop alternatives as well as biofibers and environmentally friendly fasteners. In the last 15 years, the amount of clothing being purchased increased by 60% and at the same time the amount of time a garment was worn 
decreased by half. This amounts to one garbage truck being dumped or burned every second. “H & M” has started a buy back program for unwanted clothing in which old clothing is broken down and reassembled as new garments. “Thousand Fell” is a company that has started a buy-back program for old sneakers in which they are broken down and remade into new footwear. One new area of interest is to rely on nature as opposed to animals for leather goods. Animal hides are both troublesome and toxic in the way they are produced. Mycelium, mushroom roots, has been used for centuries to dress wounds but now it has been taken to another level. “MycoWorks’s” is one such company that is exploring how to make use of mushroom roots for both clothing and automobile interiors to replace leather. A prototype of a sneaker produced in this manner began to disintegrate after 7 days of being buried in the soil. At the State University of New York biodegradable thread from algae is in the works. The final decision has to be made by the consumer. Will they support a substitute for leather and wear a product that has been made from recycled material?