Polyester and nylon are the most widely used materials in the fashion industry, especially in the field of sportswear.However, they are also one of the worst in terms of environmental costs.Can additive technology solve this problem?
The Definite Articles brand was founded by Aaron Sanandres, the co-founder and CEO of shirt company Untuckit. It was launched last month with the mission: to create a more sustainable sportswear collection starting from socks.The socks fabric is composed of 51% sustainable nylon, 23% BCI cotton, 23% sustainable regenerated polyester and 3% spandex. It is made of Ciclo granular additives, giving them unique properties: their degradation speed is as natural as natural The materials are the same in sea water, wastewater treatment plants and landfills, and fibers such as wool.
During the pandemic, the founder noticed that he was wearing sports socks at an alarming rate.Based on his experience at Untuckit, the company celebrated ten years in the market last month and Sanandres was transferred to another brand with sustainability at its core.”If you consider the sustainability equation, carbon footprint is part of it, but environmental pollution is another part,” he said.”Historically, performance clothing has been very bad for the environment because of the leakage of plastics and microplastics in the water when washing clothes. Moreover, in the long run, it will take hundreds of years for polyester and nylon to biodegrade.”
One of the main reasons why plastics cannot degrade at the same rate as natural fibers is that they do not have the same open molecular structure.However, with Ciclo additives, millions of biodegradable spots are generated in the plastic structure.Microorganisms that naturally exist under the above conditions can decompose fibers, just like natural fibers.As stated on its website, Definite Articles has applied for B Corp certification.It aims to maintain local production through a supply chain located only in North America and the use of supplier codes of conduct.
Andrea Ferris, co-founder of the plastic additives company Ciclo, has been working on this technology for 10 years.”Microbes that naturally live in an environment where plastic is the main pollutant will be attracted because it is essentially a food source. They can build functional entities on the material and completely decompose the material. When I say decomposition, what I mean It’s biodegradation; they can break down the molecular structure of polyester, then digest the molecules and truly biodegrade the material.”
Synthetic fibers are one of the biggest problems the industry is trying to solve its environmental impact.According to a report from the Sustainable Solutions Accelerator Changing Markets in July 2021, it is increasingly difficult for fashion brands to get rid of their dependence on synthetic fibers.The report examines different types of brands, from Gucci to luxury brands such as Zalando and Forever 21.In terms of sportswear, most of the sports brands analyzed in the report—including Adidas, ASICS, Nike, and Reebok—reported that most of their collections are based on synthetics.The report stated that they “have not indicated that they plan to reduce this situation.”However, the widespread adoption of material development and openness to innovation during the pandemic may drive the sportswear market to invest in solutions to its synthetic fiber problems.
Ciclo has previously worked with brands including Cone Denim, a traditional denim brand, and is working hard to expand the textile market.However, even if scientific tests are provided on its website, progress has been slow.”We launched Ciclo for the textile industry not long ago in the summer of 2017,” Ferris said.”If you consider that even a fully vetted technology takes years to be implemented in the supply chain, it’s no surprise that it takes so long. Even if it’s a known technology, everyone is I am satisfied, but it will take several years to enter the supply chain.” Moreover, additives can only be imported at the very beginning of the supply chain, which is difficult to adopt on a large scale.
However, progress has been made through brand collections including Definite Articles.For its part, Definite Articles will expand its performance wear products in the coming year.In a report by Synthetics Anonymous, sportswear brand Puma also stated that it realizes that synthetic materials account for half of its total fabric materials.It is working to gradually reduce the proportion of polyester it uses, which shows that sportswear can reduce its dependence on synthetic materials.This may herald a shift in the industry.
Post time: Dec-30-2021