{"id":92649,"date":"2021-07-19T07:29:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T05:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=92649"},"modified":"2021-07-14T11:53:31","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T09:53:31","slug":"pangaias-first-activewear-collection-is-made-from-plants-not-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/pangaias-first-activewear-collection-is-made-from-plants-not-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"Pangaia\u2019s First Activewear Collection is Made From Plants, Not Plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\"Pangaias
Photo: Courtesy of Pangaia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/a><\/a>As leggings, hoodies, bike shorts, and other stretchy athleisure took over our wardrobes in 2020, one question kept coming up: Where are the sustainable options?\u00a0All of that stuff is plastic<\/a>, plain and simple. Polyester, nylon, Spandex, and Lycra are derived from fossil fuels, require significant resources and energy to produce, and never biodegrade. Recycled fibers are often billed as the \u201csustainable solution\u201d; brands tout their leggings as being made from recycled plastic bottles, while others have made recycled synthetics a key part of their sustainability marketing. But even if recycled fibers are an improvement, one big issue still remains: Any synthetic garment, virgin or recycled, will release microplastics as you wear and wash them. The tiny bits and plastic fibers are toxic to marine life and may account for up to\u00a021 million metric tons<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0plastic pollution in the ocean<\/a>. To make matters worse, materials tend to weaken as they\u2019re recycled, which means your recycled poly leggings may actually release\u00a0more<\/em>\u00a0microplastics than a virgin pair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you recycle PET into fibers, especially for something that is high-wash like activewear or swimwear, you\u2019re just putting that plastic back into the ocean,\u201d explains Dr. Amanda J. Parkes, Pangaia<\/a>\u2019s chief innovation officer. \u201cScientifically, it is the exact wrong thing we should be doing\u2014it\u2019s just exacerbating the problem. We should be recycling those plastic bottles into construction equipment or something that will last 50 years, and sink the carbon that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, recycled plastic or poly wasn\u2019t on the table when Dr. Parkes and her team began developing Pangaia\u2019s first activewear collection. Instead, Pangaia Gym\u2019s leggings, cycling shorts, T-shirts, unitards, and sports bras are 90% bio-based. Dr. Parkes described it as \u201ca first step\u201d towards truly natural, renewable activewear: The fiber is made from a blend of eucalyptus and seaweed; bio-based nylon made from castor oil; and Roica V550, a stretch yarn that can degrade by microorganisms in compost over 5 years. It was then treated with bioWick, a bio-carbon and bio-based wicking treatment made from microalgae, and PPRMT, a bio-based odor-fighting finish and antimicrobial treatment.Advertisement<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pangaias
Photo: Courtesy of Pangaia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Parkes says the \u201cbreakthrough\u201d of this project isn\u2019t any one of those fibers or treatments, but the way Pangaia\u2019s scientists managed to blend them together and make them work in harmony. \u201cSometimes a brand will say they use this bio-based fabric, but the wicking treatment is incredibly toxic,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe had to be super meticulous and work across different mills and fabrics and treatments to make this work in the most responsible way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results are bright, ultra-soft, and \u201980s-inspired clothes for everyday movement; they aren\u2019t meant to replace your marathon gear or super-compressive leggings. \u201cThis is fun and lighthearted\u2014it isn\u2019t about competition,\u201d Dr. Parkes says. The same is true of Pangaia\u2019s broader strategy: All of its materials and technology are available for other brands to purchase so the entire industry can move towards better practices, not just Pangaia. In 2019, it introduced FLWRDWN<\/a>, a biodegradable and cruelty-free alternative to goose down or synthetic fill, and it\u2019s now being adopted by other fashion and interiors brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pangaia Gym will appeal most to the designers and brands who are already using cotton or Tencel in their activewear in an effort to avoid synthetics. It\u2019s the stretch fibers that are the real differentiator: Most natural-fiber leggings still require a bit of Spandex or Lycra for stretch, a compromise Dr. Parkes describes as \u201ca monstrous hybrid,\u201d where the natural material cannot be separated from the synthetic and is no longer as easily recyclable or biodegradable. She says Pangaia Gym\u2019s bio-based nylon still isn\u2019t the perfect solution\u2014that will come next year, when Pangaia and its partner Kintra unveil their 100% biodegradable corn- and wheat-based polyester<\/a>\u2014but it still plays nicely with the other bio-based fibers and treatments. \u201cWe\u2019re keeping things in the same cycle, even if it isn\u2019t perfect yet,\u201d she says. \u201cThis is a \u2018do no harm\u2019 strategy. We\u2019re working towards the ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until then, Pangaia Gym is arguably today\u2019s best option for plastic-free, plant-based activewear. Shop the full collection on June 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pangaias
Photo: Courtesy of Pangaia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As leggings, hoodies, bike shorts, and other stretchy athleisure took over our wardrobes in 2020, one question kept coming up: Where are the sustainable options?\u00a0All of that stuff is plastic, plain and simple. Polyester, nylon, Spandex, and Lycra are derived from fossil fuels, require significant resources and energy to produce, and never biodegrade. Recycled fibers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Gym\u2019s leggings, cycling shorts, T-shirts, unitards, and sports bras are 90% bio-based","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5838,13444,16984,12468],"supplier":[15358],"class_list":["post-92649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioeconomy","tag-fabrics","tag-sportswear","tag-textiles","supplier-pangaia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92649\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92649"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=92649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}