SkyBrands, a leader in the European fashion industry and pioneer of the global licensing sector has become the first of its kind to introduce a fully biodegradable polyester fibre into its textiles and apparel.
A recent addition to the Products of Change community and an apparel partner on some of the biggest IP in the industry – including an Among Us collection showcased at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas only last month – SkyBrands is setting out to tackle the growing pollution crisis and address the 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris and the some four billion plastic microfibres per square kilometre that litter the sea.
“Normal polyester fibres can take more than 500 years to degrade in nature,” Thomas Larsen, SkyBrands’ ceo tells Products of Change. “The fibres we use break down at a highly accelerated rate in landfills, oceans, and wastewater because we’ve optimised them to be more appetising to the naturally-occurring microbes in these specific environments, biodegrading in less than two years.”
According to FabricSight, biodegradable polyesters and polyamides can be created by adding organic compounds into the chemical mix used to form the fabric. This addition doesn’t impact the performance of the fabric, but the science suggests it does allow it to be degraded by microbes when discarded.
This decomposition will occur when the fabric is in damp and anaerobic conditions (with no oxygen), such as when it is buried in a landfill.
“The process leaves behind only what can be found in nature already such as water, CO2, methane, and biomass,” says Thomas. “This is revolutionary and can be applied to both recycled polyester fibres as well as virgin fibres. The documentation and testing is key here and, together with our partners, we have all of this well documented and tested.”
All this paints SkyBrands as somewhat a pioneer of the licensing sector. And one for which sustainability is a key pillar upon which its business is built. Placed at the centre of Europe, operating out of Denmark and Germany, this is a company stringent in its approach, whether that is across its supply chain or within its own company culture, adhering to standards and initiatives including the Business Social Compliance Initiative launched by amfori to monitor companies’ social responsibility, the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 to certify its products as free of harmful substances, and the GOTS certification.
“At SkyBrands, sustainability is top of mind. We do our best to learn and realise the challenges of a sustainable business, realising this is an ongoing journey with no terminus,” says Thomas. “We promote sustainability not only in our supply chain but also at our workplace, starting with a work-life balance and an overall healthy working environment.”
It may start there, but this is far from the end point in SkyBrands’ approach. As part of the amfori BSC Initiative, the team pays strict attention to the social and environmental activities across its supply chain. With most of the company’s textiles coming out of South Asia – where the results of global warming have already been felt in many of the countries in which SkyBrands manufactures – keeping an eye on developing situations in each is a top priority.
“For us, social criteria are just as important as environmental, meaning fair treatment of workers, ensuring safe and hygienic conditions, fair wages, and no discrimination,” explains Thomas. “Without the basic social criteria being met, no one is in a position to incorporate a long-term sustainable production.”
On the environmental side, SkyBrands has joined the Science Based Targets initiative to achieve near-term science-based targets which has been pin-pointed as an ultimate part of the Net Zero Campaign streamlined for small to medium companies. As well as this, the team has recently completed a survey from Eco Vadis to assess its performance as a company in scope of sustainability.
By providing the team with scorecards measuring the day-to-day business practices – such as vendor registration, compliance, sourcing, and supplier performance and relationship management – the organisation can be driven to “make more sustainable procurement decisions.”
“Recent surveys have shown that consumers expect brands and the industry to be taking full responsibility to act on climate change, while according to research from the Edelman Trust Barometer 2023, 52% believe the industry is not doing enough,” says Thomas.
“Only 10% believe that businesses in general have the best interests of the planet at heart. There is a huge task ahead for us to regain this trust, we must come up with solutions and continue to do so to reduce impact.
“This is encouraging to us and sets a clear direction for us as a business, there are no short-cuts and the ones who get it right will be the winners in the long run.”
