China, the world's largest producer and exporter of cotton textiles, is now branching out into soy underwear, made from fabric spun out of soybean dregs.
The soft and silky fabric invented by Li Guanqi is sported by thousands of urban Chinese, the Wall Street Journal said.
The soybean cloth, touted as a more ecologically sound alternative to traditional cloth made of cotton or wool, is starting to hit European and the US markets. Next spring, the US catalogue giant Siegel plans to feature soybean-fibre halter-top dresses.
"Though they still don't have various colours, styles or products to choose, the material itself is wonderful," says Pei Haimin (40), a bank clerk who bought soya products out of curiosity.
China, says the paper, hopes to tap consumers' growing interest in eco-friendly textiles, part of a wider trend in the US and other Western countries to embrace naturally derived products, from foods to cosmetics.
It is hard to determine whether soybean garments have real breakthrough potential. The fabric is still new and is mostly sold in China, but several designers are already part of the organic clothing trend, the paper said.