Yet the polyester and spandex fibers in the whales’ fabric and stuffing would last for decades, centuries, even millennia. Every other suitably furry cotton fabric I could find had some form of plastic in it. At last, I found something that seemed too good to be true — a fuzzy, baby blue, 100% cotton fabric. The blue fabric had another drawback: ripping into shreds under an embroidery needle — hence the vestigial eyes. If I really wanted a blue whale, Wicker said, the safest option would likely have been to use natural indigo, a pigment derived from one of several plant species.

Source: Forbes August 28, 2023 15:35 UTC