Smog to style: Siam Kubota and Greyhound turn rice straw into fashion

Siam Kubota, the country’s leading farm machinery company, is collaborating with leading streetwear brand Greyhound Original to provide a new and high-value rice straw solution. 

The two firms are upcycling rice straw into high-quality fibre to produce dozens of clothing items, bags, and hats sold under the Greyhound brand. 

Rice-straw designs from the “Turn Waste to Agri-Wear” campaign debuted at a fashion show on Tuesday, where the secrets of the new fabric were revealed. 

The rice-straw fibre is the fruit of research by scientists at Rajamangala University of Technology, Isan Surin, said Phisanu Milintanuch, Siam Kubota’s vice president.

The researchers collaborated with local communities to create an alternative fibre from agricultural byproducts such as rice straw and silk cocoon. The result is a high-quality fabric that weaves cleaner air for Thailand.  

"We [Siam Kubota] realised that part of our responsibility is to address sustainable agriculture and that effort includes reducing the sector’s waste," Phisanu said.

"Over 20 million tonnes of rice straw cover Thailand’s fields after every harvest, and “disposal by burning causes environmental impacts”, he pointed out.

Siam Kubota said it persuaded some farmers to turn rice straw into animal feed, compost or biofuel production rather than burning it, but the products' prices remained low.

Transforming crop waste into fabric for fashion is a far more sustainable solution, Phisanu said.

The idea led the company to Greyhound Original, which is also keen on environmentally friendly innovation. 

Pakin Penpakkul, CEO of Greyhound’s parent Mud and Hound, said the company's eco-fashion DNA focuses on the entire product life cycle, from material selection to production, distribution, usage, and disposal.

The brand’s Green Label product line is made from recycled plastic bottles, organic cotton, or existing fabric stock, reducing waste and chemical consumption and maximising available resources.

But the collaboration with Siam Kubota marks the first time the brand has used agricultural waste. 

"For this project, we designed and manufactured unisex streetwear clothing that appeals to environmentally conscious younger generations, with freehand and silhouette patterns embroidered in a handicraft style onto fabrics made with modern craftsmanship,” Pakin explained. 

Organic cotton and recycled fabric have been added to give the designs an extra dimension, he said. 

The seasonal collection will last three months, after which a new fashion line made of rice straw fabric will be launched. 

The current collection has received positive feedback, with some items nearly sold out, he said. 

Greyhound aims to make sustainable fashion affordable by pricing its rice straw-fabric designs at the same level as its other collections.

Researcher Ratanarekha Atchariyapitak said the new fabric is the fruit of a three-year collaboration with the rice and silk farmers of Khawao Sinrin in Surin province. 

The project aimed to reduce waste from local rice and silkworm farmers while providing additional income for the local women's weaving group. 

The result combines the durability and heat and crease resistance of animal fibre with plant fibre’s ventilation, moisture absorption and quick-drying, she explained.

She expects the innovative textile to be widely adopted for various uses. 

Phisanu said a portion of the proceeds from Greyhound’s collection will be donated to the Thailand Environment Institute, meaning consumers will be helping to conserve natural resources and the environment.