In New York, apparel brand The North Face has partnered with the BOTTLE Consortium to scale polyhydroxyalkanoates as a biodegradable alternative to polyester. The collaboration hopes to address the problem of microfibers shedding off of clothes during wash cycles, ultimately contributing to microplastics in waterways.
“PHAs can… break down naturally without a highly controlled, composting environment,” according to Katrina Knauer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory polymer scientist and chief technology officer of the U.S. Department of Energy’s BOTTLE [Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment] consortium. Previous work by the BOTTLE consortium has demonstrated the ability to control the microstructure of PHA to behave like polyester fibers and textiles, she added.
Over the next 12 months, BOTTLE will produce test quantities of PHA fiber for The North Face to evaluate for use in its product.