Lenzing
(Source: Lenzing)
Results of experiments conducted by the University of California’s renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) provide further scientific proof that Lenzing fibers offer an effective substitute to synthetic fibers that are part of the problem of plastic pollution in the oceans.
In a study published in October 2021, the SIO, San Diego, CA/USA, compared the degradation processes of nonwovens made from fossil-based synthetic materials such as polyester with those of cellulosic materials such as wood-based lyocell, modal and viscose fibers from the Lenzing Group, Lenzing/Austria, in specific scenarios – under various real oceanic conditions and controlled aquaria conditions. The results of these experiments show that while wood-based cellulosic fibers fully biodegraded within 30 days, the fossil-based fibers tested were practically unchanged after more than 200 days.
The biodegradability of Lenzing fibers was also tested in the laboratory of Organic Waste Systems NV, (OWS), Gent/Belgium – one of the world's leading companies in biodegradability and compostability testing – which showed data confirmed by those found with the real-life measurements at the SIO.