Animal rights organisation PETA has launched the Vegan Wool Challenge, calling on designers and researchers to develop a vegan alternative to sheep's wool with a lower environmental impact.
The competition will award $1 million to the first entrant who develops a bio-based or bioengineered material that mimics the look, feel and performance of wool and is adopted by a major fashion brand.
The hope is that this will help to cut emissions from the wool industry and support PETA's ongoing campaign against animal cruelty.
"Even on 'sustainable' and 'responsible' farms, workers beat, stomped on, cut up and slit the throats of conscious, struggling sheep," PETA claimed.
"The creation of a viable, sustainable vegan wool could help abate suffering and fight the climate catastrophe, as the wool industry produces massive amounts of methane, erodes soil and contaminates waterways." Wool is fashion's fourth most polluting material 
The winning material has to rival or surpass the beneficial qualities of wool, which is rapidly renewable and can be used to create garments that are biodegradable and recyclable while helping to neutralise odour and hold in warmth.
At the same time, the wool alternative needs to be completely free of animal products in a bid to eliminate the growing ethical and environmental concerns related to mass animal agriculture.

Read: Six alternatives to animal leather made from plants and food waste

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