Peta is launching a $1 million contest to find a vegan alternative to wool

It's sweater season, but your common or garden woolens could soon be a thing of the past: animal rights group Peta launched a contest this week to find a vegan alternative to the wool that comes with a prize of $1 million (£860,500).

The Vegan Wool Challenge Award promises the prize to the first person or company to develop a material which convincingly resembles sheep's wool in its texture, functionality and appearance, and a major clothing brand is investing in the material.

Innovative entries are expected. “From flowers and fruit to hemp and soybeans, the options are limitless when it comes to creating animal-free clothing and accessories,” said Peta Vice President for Europe Mimi Bekhechi. . "Peta is excited to foster innovation that will help protect animals and stop the environmental destruction caused by animal agriculture."

The competition comes at a time when new biomaterials - usually made from natural substances without harming the environment - are increasingly popular in fashion. Mycelium, an alternative to bovine leather made from mushrooms, performs best. It is now used by brands such as Stella McCartney, Ganni and Balenciaga. According to non-profit organization Material Innovation Initiative, investment in the booming industry has reached $2.3bn (£1.94bn) since 2015.

There are vegan alternatives to wool. Tencel and bamboo can be used, as well as Nullarbor, made from coconut by-products. In 2019, a group of Colombian university students won an award for Woocoa, a wool-like material made from coconut shell and hemp.

Peta has long campaigned against the wool production and animal cruelty industry. A page on its website shows "15 Videos That Will Change Your Mind About Wearing Wool", detailing workers trampling and beating sheep on wool farms in countries including the UK, Australia and the United States since 2014.

Wool is also under fire when it comes to the environment. Like cows, sheep release a lot of methane into the atmosphere, and they need farmland.

According to the Pulse Report, published by the Global Fashion Agenda in 2017 , wool has been ranked the fourth worst material for the environment, just behind the widely derided cotton. He found that synthetic fabrics, including acrylic, polyester, spandex and rayon, were less harmful to the environment. The Higgs Materials Durability Index ranks wool's impact at 81 out of 300. Cotton scored 99 and polyester 41.

The International Wool Textile Organization has since disputed this. He indicates that the index does not take into account the fact that consumers tend to wear woolen items longer and that they are washed less. Only 5% by weight of total clothing donated by consumers for recycling and reuse is wool.

"Wool is one of the most sustainable fibers known of man," said Graham Clark. , the marketing director of British Wool. "It's renewable and biodegradable, so it doesn't contribute to landfills the way synthetics do."

Clark said wool doesn't contribute from microplastics to the oceans, and didn't need to be cleaned as often as man-made fabrics. “It is undeniable that the fashion industry needs better sustainable solutions, but we must bear in mind that new initiatives, such as those which directly or indirectly encourage the use of synthetic materials, do not cause more more harm than good,” he said.

Clark also pushed against animal cruelty charges. "Shearers in the UK are highly skilled professionals carrying out a vital duty of care," he said. “Shearing is a painless process and is an essential part of sheep care, as failure to do so can cause discomfort and disease, with painful, dangerous and even fatal consequences. Shearing is a matter of animal welfare."

The wool trade is a big industry,