A while ago, another member of this community posted a study on how old used fabrics can be used to grow hydroponic plants.
The fabric should be made of synthetic fibers if you want to keep it for longer than a few days.

On the main picture I’m growing cress on a “single use” cotton cloth I use to wipe my glasses dry, so it’s basically fresh, but has some lint or whatever on it.
It will decay after a few weeks, but since the cress will be eaten very soon, it won’t happen ;)

I also created a “buffet” for my cats, consisting of different cat grass types and catnip.
I have to replace them quite often, especially the wheat, because they get nasty really quickly, but I don’t want to waste any substrate, like LECA or coco coir.

For that, I cut an old polyester sports shirt into segments and stapled them onto nursery pots.

The textile will act as a wick and keep the surface constantly moist, while most of the roots will either grow directly through the fabric, like in the kratky method, and some will grow sidewards.

The great thing is that it won’t create any waste, and is basically for free. I can just throw it away after use, or maybe even reuse it again, let’s see!