This Entrepreneur Makes Clothes From Soiled Milk, Solving A Problem That Plagues Farmers

Would you wear a t-shirt made from milk? You might soon enough.

Two years ago, Robert Luo visited his uncle's dairy farm in China and was shocked to see buckets and buckets of sour and spoiled milk just sitting there. Luo’s uncle lamented how tons of food and money go to waste in his line of work.

Turns out, it’s a common problem among farmers all across the globe — especially this year. Throughout 2020, farmers in the U.S. and abroad have had to dump even more milk than usual. Schools, restaurants and other foodservice providers had to close their doors to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. This led to a steep drop in dairy demand and, as a result, as many as 3.7 million gallons of milk are dumped each day, according to Dairy Farmers of America.

After returning to the U.S., Luo started researching ways to solve this problem. His solution is Mi Terro.

The Los Angeles-based startup extracts the protein fibers from spoiled milk and transforms them into a material that can be used to make various clothing items, such as pajamas or underwear.

And it doesn’t end with apparel. Mi Terro is on the hunt for venture capital, with the bet that it can wield its technology to create biodegradable packaging for food and other household goods.

Luo recently sat down with the hosts of Who’s Saving The Planet Podcast and described how his company works, its eco-friendly mission and where it’s headed next. Click here to listen on iTunes or stream the episode below: