Biodegradable Food Products

Biodegradable Polyester Garments

The Japanese textile industry has been a pioneer in the development of eco-friendly textiles and clothing for a long time, but in what is thought to be a first for the industry, a group of companies has produced an outfit made of fully biodegradable polyester fabrics and trims.

Each separate component of the jacket, t-shirt, hat and pants combination is made using the 'Apexa' biodegradable polymer from DuPont. Ichimura supplied the fabric, YKK supplied the zipper, Morito made the tapes, Iris Co., Ltd produced the buttons and D-rings, while Fujix supplied the sewing thread in order to make-up the garments.

The fabrics used to make this new biodegradable clothing were seen for the time in Europe at the recent Premiere Vision in Paris on the Ichimura booth. Osaka-based Ichimura is a sister company of Toray, which makes the fibres from DuPont Apexa resin for Ichimura to spin, weave or knit into yarns and fabrics.

Tests carried out on the fabrics in Japan show that under the correct composting conditions, Apexa fibres break down completely in a 45 day period. Composting was done at temperatures around 60 degrees C, at a pH 8 and in a mixture of water, rice husk and (hold your nose) pig excrement.

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