Champion Gets Biodegradable Upgrade
Champion Athleticwear is the latest brand to get in bed with Ciclo, the textile additive that enables synthetic materials to biodegrade more like natural fibers.
Called Eco Future Reverse Weave with Ciclo, the Hanesbrands activewear label’s new line contains fibers that are biodegradable and don’t linger in the environment like popular synthetics such as polyester and nylon. Ciclo gives these petroleum-based inputs “expiration dates,” reducing the kind of microplastic pollution caused by the shedding of synthetic textiles through normal wear and washing. The Champion line has been in development since March and is the first officially launched collaboration between the two.
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In keeping with the eco-minded slant, Champion also adopted natural, environmentally friendly dyes for use in the Eco Future Reverse Weave with Ciclo collection. They are sourced from fruit like pomegranate, annatto, and terminalia chebula, as well as kerria lacca insects.
Consumers can purchase the new range knowing that the collection of crewnecks and joggers will have less of a negative effect on the environment. The partnership with Ciclo will provide consumers with responsible choices, serving as a catalyst for positive change in the fashion industry, according to Vanessa LeFebvre, Champion’s president of global activewear.
“As we continue to innovate and evolve, Champion is dedicated to creating solutions through products that will ensure a better tomorrow for our planet and the people living on it,” she said.
The collaboration, launching in store and on champion.com on Dec. 6, promotes the environment, in keeping with the company’s first global brand campaign, “Champion What Moves You.” It was launched in September with six international creators that have a mastery of a particular craft, ranging from art and music to sports and shoe making.
Ciclo is a patented textile ingredient formulated to mitigate microfiber pollution by rendering it easily broken down by microorganisms. It is certified Eco Passport by Oeko-Tex and verifiably biodegradable by ASTM and ISO Test methods. According to Andrea Ferris, co-founder and CEO of Intrinsic Textiles Group, originators of Ciclo and partners with Parkdale, the largest spun yarn producer in the Western Hemisphere, the collaboration with Champion aligns with Ciclo’s goals. Ciclo was launched in 2017 and has been working with Champion for about four years.
“This partnership is another example of how we’re progressing on our mission to reduce the impact of unavoidable microplastic pollution caused by synthetic textiles and bring awareness of this global issue to a mass group of young consumers,” Ferris said.
Ciclo is also used in clothing from Dovetail Workwear and Definite Articles, and in healthcare scrubs from Kindthread’s Landau brand and Welles.
Champion, founded in 1919, makes athletic apparel for men and women that includes activewear, sweats, tees, sports bras, team uniforms, footwear and accessories. Owner Hanesbrands also makes Hanes innerwear, among America’s biggest basic apparel brands, plus Playtex, Bali, L’eggs, Just My Size, Barely There, Wonderbra, Maidenform, Berlei and Bonds. The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Gildan rival recently came through a three-and-a-half month activist standoff that ended with the addition of three new board members. Hanesbrands made several job cuts and closed its last U.S. cut-and-sew factory this year.
