Fashion for Good – a global initiative to inspire change and sustainability in the fashion industry – is launching a six-month home-compostable polybag project to test alternatives to conventional single-use polybags. In partnership with C&A and Levi Strauss, new bags from Israel-based TIPA Corp. and Indonesia-headquartered Greenhope are being used.
These bags are made with bio-based materials and are designed to compost in either home or municipal composting environments.
Every year, an estimated 180 billion polybags are produced to store, transport and protect clothing and footwear. These conventional polybags have a high carbon footprint and low recycling rates. They are usually burned, landfilled or liable to environmental leakage. The new bags include bio-based content which must be tested against essential performance and quality characteristics, such as transparency, durability and longevity. The project is aimed at benchmarking these bags against conventional plastics in supply chains, as well as measuring the overall impact and associated costs of the materials.
Both TIPA and Greenhope have joined leading compostability certification bodies. TIPA is certified by TÜV Austria OK Compost Home, and Greenhope is undergoing certification for DIN CERTCO Home Compostable. These certifications are according to both the French standard NFT 51-800, and the Australian standard AS 5810.
