Biotech cropping up in clothing industry Genetically altered corn used to make new fiber Ingeo

In a sneak peek of what could be fashion’s future, leggy models draped in dresses by designers like Oscar de la Renta and Versace strut their stuff on the runway.

But this is no Paris or New York fashion show. Rather, the scene is a Toronto biotechnology conference and the dresses are made from a new fiber called Ingeo, made largely from genetically engineered corn.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization used the fashion statement last week to burnish its battered image as an environmental scourge.

Biotechnology is quietly playing a growing role in an apparel industry waking up to its customers’ concerns about the environment and the country’s reliance on the foreign oil used to make synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon. But the trend is raising concerns among some environmental purists who oppose genetically engineered crops of any kind.

“Ingeo still supports genetically engineered crops and we really view it as a slippery slope,” said Jill Dumain of Ventura, Calif.-based Patagonia Inc., which pays a premium to use only organic cotton in its clothes.

But other clothiers are developing biodegradable fabrics from natural fibers that have their start as genetically engineered crops.

Of course, cotton is still by far the most popular natural fiber. But chances are even the T-shirt you’re wearing is made at least partly from genetically engineered crops. That’s because 52 percent of cotton grown last year was genetically engineered with a bacteria gene to resist bugs without the need for pesticides, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Now, with more apparel manufacturers turning to Ingeo, more clothes on the rack will have gotten their start in a gene lab. Nearly half the nation’s corn crops are genetically engineered to withstand sprayings of a popular weed killer.

NatureWorks LLC, the Nebraska company that turns corn into Ingeo, said it doesn’t separate the genetically engineered crop from the conventionally grown crop that comes into its factory. So there’s a good chance that just about every Ingeo product is derived, at least in part, from genetically engineered corn.

“We think there is a tremendous future for it, particularly because the consumer world is starting to wake up and recognize that it makes sense to employ some of these different materials as an alternative to both energy and fabric,” said Martin Dudziak, research director for Linda Loudermilk Inc., a designer making Ingeo clothes.