Breaking down clothes

Sustainable fashion is trending these days, with circular economy principles such as repair and reuse rising to the forefront. While these concepts are critical to ensuring that we use resources as sustainably as possible, what’s not talked about as much is how we dispose of these materials. Once they get thrown out, do they break down? The news is not great.

1. If they go into a landfill, the answer is No. Or at least it’s Not For a Long Time. Landfills are typically not the type of environments that are meant to degrade much of anything, even easier to degrade fibers such as cotton.
2. If they go into a composting facility, the answer is MAYBE but Probably Not. But probably not. Textiles degrade at rates much different from many commercial composters, and there’s many types of materials that are difficult to sort through. Even if composters do accept them (many do not), they may interfere with the highly controlled composting timelines and environments companies have to deal with.

So what’s a everyday person to do with their biodegradable textile? Perhaps try composting it yourself, or re-using it in your home. Turn them into a mask during these COVID days. Or find someone who will take them and use them for industrial purposes such as insulation.

Finally, support organizations like the National Stewardship Action Council that can help support programs that promote recycling or composting textiles.