Biodegradable apparel from Puma

Imagine wearing a pair of shoes or a tracksuit for a few months and then burying it in your back yard to give your home grown vegetables some nutrients.

Sports brand Puma has taken the concept of greening to a new level by introducing biodegradable apparel.

Puma Safe global director Reiner Hengstmann says their InCycle collection was developed with a sustainable end-of-life process in mind and the products are either biodegradable or recyclable.

He explains: "The blue cycle products in the collection are recyclable, made with reusable technical nutrients.

"Recycling means that used material - which normally ends up in conventional disposal such as a landfill or incineration plants - will be processed into new materials.

"The blue cycle products are made with non-toxic, non-harmful synthetic materials that have no negative effects on nature.

"The green cycle products have biological nutrients and are biodegradable.

"They are made with organic materials that, once used, can be disposed of in an industrial composting facility.

"The material biodegrades into natural material and becomes part of the ecosystem again.

"By 2015 we plan to ensure that 50% of all collections are made of more sustainable materials."

Though other brands are taking similar initiatives, Puma is the only one offering a full collection.

What's more is their Bring Me Back programme allows the consumer to return their worn goods to be collected by a professional recycling system.

So is it as friendly on the pocket?

"The target was to develop products that can be sold at a comparable price to conventional products," he says.

Other brands that have designed and produced clothes and accessories with the environment in mind include:

• Gucci. They began selling liquid wood sunglasses and footwear made with biodegradable plastics last year;
  
• Stella McCartney debuted several styles of heels with mock croc and faux leather uppers anchored with chunky, biodegradable rubber soles.
  
• L.A. designer Linda Loudermilk made a splash in 2010 with a compostable bikini that can completely decompose in 180 days after burying it in the ground;
  
• The Timberland Earthkeepers boat shoes are 90% recyclable when you're done with them. The shoes are designed to be disassembled and the different parts can be 90% recycled. The Green Rubber^TM soles are 42% recyclable rubber and the body of the shoe is 100% organic cotton.