Two Square Meter: Skin Nourishing Eco Friendly Clothing? Yes.

In a time where organic clothing has expanded far beyond hippie boutiques and shoppers in Target don’t bat an eye at seeing it offered there, it is not a big leap to consider that clothing may one day actually be good for you. Two Square Meter has done just that, with a line of clothing that it claims is nourishing to your skin. You read that right!

Using yarn that contains fibers derived from milk protein or seaweed fibers, each said to have skin nourishing properties, the act of wearing a sweater can be both warming to the body and beneficial to the skin. Clothing companies have previously made body benefit claims, such as the recent trend of touting SPF, but this is a step further. Athleticwear has long served both a functional and fashion purpose, wicking away moisture, moderating temperature, etc, but as far as I know, never has such been the case for purely fashion oriented clothing.

Whether or not Two Square Meters clothing’s claimed benefits stand up under the light of consumer scrutiny remains to be seen, but their creativity is to be commended, and I would hope will encourage other clothing companies to look to see how their clothing can likewise stretch beyond mere body covering and fashion into something greater.

Just how do they make clothing out of milk and seaweed?

According to Springwise, “To produce the milk-based knitwear, natural milk is skimmed and drained before the extracted proteins are processed into fibers.” Beyond mere novelty, the resulting yarn is said to bind with sweat and zero out odor, also serving to regulate body temperature. Meanwhile, another yarn is created when seaweed is combined with cotton, the seaweed’s skin beneficial properties remaining far beyond its first wash.

Two Square Meters represents an important step forward in eco friendly products, as it goes beyond leaning on its sustainable aspects, appealing to people’s self interest first. It’s the right step forward, as less green leaning people are more apt to think about the broader world when their needs and desires are addressed first.

Readers: Where else are you seeing green product makers getting the person/planet benefit balance right?

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Paul Smith is a sustainable business innovator, the founder of GreenSmith Consulting, and has an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. He creates interest in, conversations about, and business for green (and greening) companies, via social media marketing.