CiCLO textile technology allows polyester and other synthetic materials to biodegrade like natural materials do in wastewater treatment plant sludge, sea water and landfill conditions. CiCLO is the first textile technology to market that apparel brands can easily implement at the manufacturing level to take responsibility for reducing synthetic microfiber pollution generated during washing, and minimizing plastic accumulation in landfills caused by discarded textiles.

Recent studies claim that annual estimates of plastic microfiber pollution in the oceans is equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles by weight. While several researchers are currently working to quantify microfiber pollution contributions from textiles and specifically which textiles are the main sources, there is industry agreement that microfibers are shed during the washing cycle. Additionally, textile waste to landfill is a significant environmental concern. According to the US EPA, about 5% of landfill mass is textile waste. Considering that greater than 60% of the world’s textiles are synthetic materials, over 40 million pounds of synthetic “plastic” textiles are sent to landfill every day in the US alone.

CiCLO is also ECO PASSPORT certified by OEKO-TEX, a third party verification process demonstrating safety for use in sustainable textile manufacturing and conformance to the MRSL of the ZDHC Program.