A tech-based clothing startup by the name of Vollebak has developed a T-shirt that can either be put in a compost bin or buried in the ground once it’s reached the end of its life. That’s because the shirt is made entirely from wood pulp and algae, which breaks down in soil or in a composter within months. Vollebak sources wood from sustainably managed forests, focusing mainly on eucalyptus, beech, and spruce trees, which are chipped and pulped before being turned into fibre, then yarn and finally fabric.
According to co-owner Steve Tidball, the speed at which the T-shirt biodegrades depends on the environment it’s put in – the hotter the conditions and the more bacteria and fungi it’s exposed to, the faster it will disappear. Once decomposed, either in the ground or a compost bin, the T-shirt becomes “worm food” – transformed into the same matter as the dead plants, grass, and leaves on the ground that are eaten by worms.
