Outdoor brands early adopters of PrimaLoft’s biodegradable fibre
28/01/2019
The company unveiled PrimaLoft Bio in October 2018. As well as being made from 100% post-consumer recycled material, the fibres have been shown to biodegrade well in specific environments, such as landfill or ocean water. PrimaLoft has achieved this using a proprietary technology that “enhances” the fibres so they are more attractive to the naturally-occurring mico-organisms found in these conditions.
Testing of the biodegradability of the fibres was carried out at a certified laboratory using American Standard Testing Methods (ASTM). In test conditions simulating an accelerated landfill environment (test method ASTM D5511), the fibres showed 84.1% biodegradation in 423 days. This compares to 2.2% for standard polyester fibres, according to PrimaLoft. In simulated marine conditions (test method ASTM 6691), the Bio fibres showed 55.1% degradation in 409 days. In comparison, the figure for standard polyester fibres was 2.1%.
The outdoor brands that are preparing to release products featuring PrimaLoft Bio are: Sweden’s Houdini, Norwegian groups Helly Hansen and Norrøna, Germany-based Vaude and US company LL Bean.
PrimaLoft will display concept styles from its brand partners at its booth during the forthcoming ISPO exhibition in Munich (February 3-6).
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