Biodegradable Technical Apparel
PrimaLoft Bio Creates a Biodegradable Performance Material
Amy Duong — January 29, 2019PrimaLoft Bio works in collaboration with a series of technical clothing labels to introduce the world's inaugural biodegradable recycled performance fabric material. The label works in collaboration with Norrøna, Houdini, L.L. Bean, Vaude, and Helly Hansen. The eco-friendly textile is set to launch officially in Fall of 2020. The special fabric material is specially developed using textiles by PrimaLoft Bio, ensuring the same amount of resilience and insulation as the rest of its offerings.
The idea stemmed from 2014 when one of the label's product managers questioned if ocean microplastic can be incorporated into its jackets. Tests began and it found that microbes gathered from the ocean and landfills quickly become biodegradable when it is exposed to natural components. A technical apparel item will simply turn into a mix of biomass, water, methane, and carbon dioxide within 15 months. Typically, synthetic materials would take up to 200 years to reach decomposition, if it can at all.