Mi Terro News

Around 1.3 billion tonnes of food are thrown out every single year. One of the most discarded items is expired milk.

Yet innovator Robert Luo believes that everything should be given another chance. “Nothing is ever waste, but rather an opportunity,” he says.

His answer to forsaken dairy? A T-shirt.

A serial entrepreneur with 3 companies under his belt (two acquired), Robert Luo, CEO + Founder of Mi Terro, began with making duffle bags out of corks and ocean plastic. The newest product in the green fashion lineup? A t-shirt made from spoiled milk. 

In creating his own biotech company that creates protein fiber from milk waste, Robert has built a company with the potential to revolutionize two of the largest industries in the world— fashion and food waste. Robert is constantly innovating and looking for what’s next. There are undoubtedly big things on his horizon. I had the opportunity to have a Q&A session to share his extraordinary story.

An LA-based startup is turning soiled milk into sustainable t-shirts, and don't panic, they smell just fine. The fashion industry is seeing changes that are out to shake it to its core with various alternative materials such as cactus and even pineapple leather, so it shouldn't come off as a surprise that turning milk to fashion is possible.

The startup Mi Terro is using biotechnology to re-engineer some parts of the food waste into sustainable fibers that make up biodegradable t-shirts and has this futuristic technology that might replace plastic use in fashion, medical, and packaging industries covered already. 

An LA-based startup is making eco-friendly t-shirts out of excess milk.

You may have already heard of various alternative materials coming to the fore in fashion, like hemp, linen and even pineapple leather. But the white stuff we pour over our cereal every morning - not so much.

Mi Terro uses biotechnology to re-engineer food waste into sustainable fibres that can replace plastic in the fashion, medical and packaging industries. Why milk? 128 million tons of milk is wasted every year, according to the brand, and this generates around 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases.

A Los Angeles-based startup that upcycles unused milk into sustainable clothing is in talks with leading dairy companies in China over strategic partnerships, said the company’s founder and chief executive.

Mi Terro is one of many small fashion brands tapping consumers’ growing desire to direct their purchases toward companies operating sustainably, in an industry that has been dogged by concerns around waste and over-production. Small- and medium-sized companies make up roughly half of the fashion industry, and are well-placed to innovate in sustainability, according to a 2019 white paper led by the Centre for Sustainable Fashion.

A Los Angeles-based startup that upcycles unused milk into sustainable clothing is in talks with leading dairy companies in China over strategic partnerships, said the company’s founder and chief executive.

The startup is preparing to expand its food waste innovation beyond fashion. It is working on new technology that will help dairy makers recycle whey waste into biodegradable food packaging film, Luo said.