"Biodegradable" Polyesters: Are They For Real?
An update: I was a little bit too gullible before.
We use way too much polyester in our fashion, that is a fact.
No, nobody needs a polyester sundress, button down, or pajamas. But it’s also a fact that we haven’t yet found a natural, plastic-free way to make a performance sneaker or a lightweight hiking jacket. So even the most outdoorsy climate scientists are currently stuck with at least some synthetic clothing.
In 2024, 28% of post-consumer garments in the U.S. were primarily polyester. And all of those materials are going to the landfill, being burned, or ending up in the environment. (Hello, Ghana.)
There are promising technologies emerging to chemically recycle synthetic fabrics. However, when or if these technologies are scaled, there is a good chance they will still only take in pre-consumer textiles, a.k.a. off-cuts from factories. Clothing is too mixed and chaotic to profitably recycle. In the landfill it will continue to go.
And then, we have the problem of microfibers. When washed, synthetic materials release microfibers into the wastewater treatment system and to septic fields. From there, they are either released with “purified” water into waterways, or stay a part of wastewater sludge, which is eventually applied to large farms as fertilizer.
When worn or used, synthetic materials also release microfibers into the air or into the home, where they accumulate in house dust, so we breathe them in and ingest them.
Microplastics have been found in our bowels, blood, placentas, lungs, and testes. Scientists are just at the beginning of researching the myriad potential health effects of microplastics on our bodies — from cancer, heart disease, and kidney disease; to Alzheimer’s, chronic bowel disease, and fertility.
What’s worse, according to Susanne Brander, an associate professor and ecotoxicologist at Oregon State University, micro and nanofibers are more toxic than microplastics that come in other shapes, such as pellets or beads. “That has been shown in a number of studies,” she says.
Okay, so polyester and nylon aren’t being recycled, are ending up in our oceans and soil, and their microfibers are especially toxic. What if we could make them biodegradable? Voila: there are at least five different companies who have created a synthetic fiber with an additive that makes it break down in the presence of bacteria.
Intrinsic Textiles Group invented the technology behind CiCLO, a proprietary chemical resin mixture that added to polyester or nylon at the factory. It has “biodegradable spots” throughout that attract bacteria that purportedly break it down completely. It’s manufactured in North Carolina.