While the fashion pack are hitting the catwalks at Paris Fashion Week, students at London's Kingston University are trying to lower the industry's carbon footprint by using biodegradable materials to produce luxury clothes, shoes and accessories.

The fashion industry has a high environmental footprint.

The manufacture of synthetic fibers like polyester alone produces nearly five times as much carbon dioxide per kilogramme as some organic cotton and more than twice as much as hemp, according to a Stockholm Environment Institute study.

Waste industry reports say that more than one million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year, with most going to landfill and only 25% recycled.