Here’s today’s stories of progress in the fight against climate change.

👜 Food waste makes a fashion debut

Rather than leaving food waste to rot away and emit methane, the biotech company Polybion has turned it into a new sustainable fabric. The material is made by feeding mango peels to a bacteria, which converts it into a cellulose that can be tanned and dried just like leather. So far, the company has created one million square feet of the fabric, known as Celium, and it’s just made its catwalk debut with the Danish brand Ganni.

🪨 Using rock to restore soils

Crushed basalt is being trialled by Australian farmers as a replacement for fertilisers that simultaneously sucks carbon from the atmosphere. Usually used for roads and driveways, the rock is an abundant and cheap resource that releases magnesium and calcium as it breaks down, enriching the soil. Plus, in a process known as enhanced rock weathering, crushed basalt captures and permanently stores CO2.

🗺️ Mapping land in order to save it

Indigenous tribeswomen in India at the frontline of the climate crisis are demanding the protection of their land and advocating for their rights. Groups in the eastern state of Odisha are taking the first step of drawing up their own maps of the local area, and comparing them with official data from the 1960s in order to see what has disappeared and what needs to be restored. Women are also seeking the formal right to their land, which would mean other parties, including authorities, have to ask for consent before carrying out any activity that would affect it.

The Green Light is written by freelance climate writer Molly Millar.