Smog to style: Siam Kubota and Greyhound turn rice straw into fashion

Pakin Penpakkul, CEO of Greyhound’s parent Mud and Hound, said the company’s eco-fashion DNA focuses on the entire product life cycle, from material selection to production, distribution, usage, and disposal.

The brand’s Green Label product line is made from recycled plastic bottles, organic cotton, or existing fabric stock, reducing waste and chemical consumption and maximising available resources.

But the collaboration with Siam Kubota marks the first time the brand has used agricultural waste. 

“For this project, we designed and manufactured unisex streetwear clothing that appeals to environmentally conscious younger generations, with freehand and silhouette patterns embroidered in a handicraft style onto fabrics made with modern craftsmanship,” Pakin explained. 

Organic cotton and recycled fabric have been added to give the designs an extra dimension, he said. 

The seasonal collection will last three months, after which a new fashion line made of rice straw fabric will be launched. 

The current collection has received positive feedback, with some items nearly sold out, he said. 

Greyhound aims to make sustainable fashion affordable by pricing its rice straw-fabric designs at the same level as its other collections.

Researcher Ratanarekha Atchariyapitak said the new fabric is the fruit of a three-year collaboration with the rice and silk farmers of Khawao Sinrin in Surin province. 

The project aimed to reduce waste from local rice and silkworm farmers while providing additional income for the local women’s weaving group.