37.5® Technology helps discarded textiles decompose faster

Cocona Labs, the creators of 37.5® sustainable thermoregulation technologies, has added an additive that helps 37.5 fibers to biodegrade at a faster rate in landfill conditions. The new offering has little impact on comfort or efficiency, allowing designers to better balance performance and sustainability.

The amount of waste produced by recycled textiles is at an all-time high, and there are very few end-of-life fabric recycling choices.

Just 15% of clothing waste is recycled in the United States. Textiles account for 8% of all landfill waste, or 21 billion pounds per year, or 70 pounds per person. Around half the recycled textiles in Europe wind up in landfills or are incinerated, according to Cocona Labs.

37.5 yarns are also available with a fiber-level additive that improves the ability of microorganisms already found in landfills to adhere to and break down the fibers, speeding up the natural degradation process.

Its current additive prevents the fibers from breaking down into smaller fragments of microplastic, which remain unchanged. At the molecular level, the fibers are transformed into naturally occurring byproducts.

Cocona said some of these byproducts are rapidly being captured and reused as a renewable energy source by modern, more productive landfills.