Biodegradable Fashion Benefits: What Breaking Down Really Means

Biodegradable fashion benefits are attracting growing interest from major brands including Bottega Veneta and Stella McCartney. Clothes that don’t pollute sound great, and so does a fabric made from food waste, but like any other innovation, we are here to interrogate it. Most clothes are destined to become fabric waste, although some of them may get recycled, they will reach the end of their lifespan sooner or later. In response to this ugly truth and to the massive environmental and social impact clothes have, some brands and designers are turning to biodegradability as the solution, designing and manufacturing apparel and footwear which will decompose into nothing when discarded.

Brands Exploring Biodegradable Fashion

Throughout SS23 shows Gabriela Hearst made shoes with biodegradable soles, Peter Do used TomTex, a biodegradable leather alternative, and the Coperni spray-on dress can, on request, be made from biodegradable fibres and binders. Back in 2020, Bottega Veneta debuted its 100%  biodegradable rubber boots and Stella McCartney launched biodegradable stretch denim. These examples show how biodegradable fashion benefits are being explored across footwear, denim and experimental materials.

Different Routes to Biodegradation

Billi London, for example, is the brand who designed the first biodegradable tights, made from Amni Soul Eco, a nylon which will biodegrade in approximately five years, compared to the almost-100 years conventional tights take to break down. These tights are actually supposed to go in the bin because landfill provides the perfect, oxygen-free conditions for them to biodegrade into biomass and biogas. The potential biodegradable fashion benefits depend heavily on the conditions required for each product to break down.

Compostable Underwear from KENT

The brand KENT, makes biodegradable underwear. Every product they introduce to the market has to meet all criteria to be compostable: everything from materials, washes, dyes, and component parts for ease of compostability. These products break down in approximately 90 days, and act as a source of nutrients for the soil so they can even be buried in your garden. KENT demonstrates how biodegradable fashion benefits can include returning nutrients to the soil when materials are genuinely compostable.

Biodegradable Does Not Mean Impact-Free

The differences between KENT and Billi London highlights just how varied the biodegradable fashion landscape can be. Some items should go in the bin, some can be buried in your garden, others need specialist treatment. The biodegradability of a product is only one component of its huge life-cycle, which is the part we need to focus on, if we want to apply a more circular economy to the Fashion Industry. Understanding biodegradable fashion benefits therefore requires looking at the entire product lifecycle, not only what happens at disposal. It makes sense for brands solving specific problems, like huge numbers of tights and underwear going to landfill for lack of other options, to use biodegradability as their driving force, but like any sustainable solution, we should expect it as one of multiple measures as it is still not okay to encourage people to ditch their clothes or shoes at the earliest opportunity just because they won’t pollute the environment. In fact, the brands mentioned above are actually starting to market campaigns to make the most of these products before ditching by following the motto “wear slow, compost fast”; or by showing how to darn holes and turn worn out tights into plant hangers, ensuring long-term use before disposal.

What Can You Do?

Check whether a product needs industrial composting, landfill conditions or home composting before accepting biodegradable claims. Wear items for as long as possible, repair them when needed and follow the correct disposal instructions so that biodegradable fashion benefits are not undermined by premature waste.

[Info sourced on dazeddigital.com

All images sourced on canva.com]