The shirts are made from fibres extracted from the beans. The material apparently feels as soft as cashmere, is almost as warm as wool and is cheap to produce. The Huakang Biochemical Engineering Group has developed a solvent which removes the bean's fibres. A number of the shirts have now been put on show at a trade fair in Guangzhou, the China Daily reports. A production line capable of turning out 1,500 tonnes of soybean protein has now been set up.
Research is also underway to see if peanuts can produce a similar fibre.
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