Creating a novel supply chain to connect potato farmers in the East of England to the textile fibre market.

Potato stems, typically a worthless nuisance for farmers, are being turned into the world’s first textile fibres from potato harvest waste. This matters because the global demand for sustainable textile fibres is growing faster than supply. Currently, potato stems have no value and clog harvesting equipment. Fibe has shown these stems contain fibres with spinning and weaving qualities similar to conventional textiles. By using this waste, potatoes become a dual-purpose crop: tubers for food, and stems for eco-fibre—both grown on the same land with the same inputs. If this succeeds, it could create a new industry based entirely in the East of England, linking farmers directly to a processing facility. The project, a collaboration between Fibe and Sentry, focuses on developing the supply-chain logistics needed to deliver potato stems in a scalable, cost-effective way. This would turn an agricultural nuisance into a commercial raw material for clothing and textiles, reducing reliance on virgin fibres and cutting waste. The research is squarely aimed at commercialisation, not fundamental science, and its impact would be a new, local supply chain for a rapidly growing market.