Each separate component of the jacket, t-shirt, hat and pants combination is made using the 'Apexa' biodegradable polymer from DuPont. Ichimura supplied the fabric, YKK supplied the zipper, Morito made the tapes, Iris Co., Ltd produced the buttons and D-rings, while Fujix supplied the sewing thread in order to make-up the garments.

The fabrics used to make this new biodegradable clothing were seen for the time in Europe at the recent Premiere Vision in Paris on the Ichimura booth. Osaka-based Ichimura is a sister company of Toray, which makes the fibres from DuPont Apexa resin for Ichimura to spin, weave or knit into yarns and fabrics.

Tests carried out on the fabrics in Japan show that under the correct composting conditions, Apexa fibres break down completely in a 45 day period. Composting was done at temperatures around 60 degrees C, at a pH 8 and in a mixture of water, rice husk and (hold your nose) pig excrement.

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Performance

Not only are these garments said to be fully biodegradable, Ichimura claims the polyester fabrics perform similar, if not better, than regular polyesters. "Apexa has almost the same properties as regular polyester, such as heat resistance, strength and durability," said Shunichi Higashi of Ichimura Sangyo Osaka. The company also says that Apexa is robust and can stand high temperature dyeing as well as being soft with certain anti-static properties.

Higashi noted that other biodegradable fibres such as PLA (polylactic acid), which is derived from corn, are available on the market but said "PLA is much weaker than polyester and it's difficult to make fibres, yarns and textiles with PLA which have all the necessary properties for regular use in [hard wearing] clothing. Unlike currently available PLA, fabrics made with Apexa can be safely ironed.

The fabrics are made from spun Apexa polyester yarn (as opposed to filament), then either knitted or woven into textiles. The company currently offers spun yarns and fabrics in 100% 'Apexa' as well as cotton blends but also says it is suitable for blending with other natural fibres such as wool to give quicker drying and improved pilling. Yarns are currently being produced in counts of 1/20s, 1/30s and 1/40s. "We are also developing filament yarn in 75 dTex," revealed Higashi, "although producing the yarn in filament form is more difficult."

Domestic market

The company has already started to make sales of this fabric in the domestic market in Japan where sustainability and ecology are well established at the forefront of consumer's minds. "We hope to introduce 'Apexa' into the international market starting through Premiere Vision," he said, but added that the commercial availability of the fabrics in Europe is still some way off.

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