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Fashion for Good Launches the
Home-Compostable Polybag Project

Amsterdam - On December 13, Fashion for Good
launched the Home-Compostable Polybag Project,
a pilot to test alternatives to conventional single-
use polybags. Orchestrated by Fashion for Good
in partnership with C&A and Levi Strauss & Co.,
this six-month project uses novel bags from Fash-
ion for Good innovators TIPA Corp. and Greenhope.
These bags are made with bio-based material to
lessen fossil fuel consumption and are designed Plastic wrap. Photo by Michael Dziedzic
to compost in either home or municipal composting
environments. The project aims to find alternative
end-of-use for landfill-bound materials, and to pro-
vide an at-home option for consumers who do not
have access to municipal composting
programmes.

Introducing Compostable alternatives to Landfill-Bound
Polybags
An estimated 180 billion polybags are produced every year
to store, transport and protect apparel and footwear. Their
production, use and end-of-use have a significant impact:
conventional virgin polybags have a high carbon footprint
and low recycling rates across the globe. Conventional bags
are commonly incinerated, landfilled, or subject to envi-
ronmental leakage, harming natural systems. To change
this paradigm, innovation must both find appropriate dis-
posal pathways that are less harmful to the environment
and reduce fossil fuel consumption. Home-compostable resealable bag with gusset from
TIPA Corp. Image courtesy of TIPA Corp.
In the Home-Compostable Polybag Project, Fashion for longevity. This project seeks to benchmark these bags
Good partners C&A and Levi Strauss & Co. will test key against conventional plastics in supply chains, as well as
home-compostable polybags that include, bio-based ma- measuring the overall impact and associated costs of the
terial from innovators TIPA Corp. and Greenhope, in their materials.
supply chain as a viable substitute to conventional plastic
polybags. “The Home-Compostable, Polybag Project with
Fashion for Good is an exciting opportunity to pi-
“We are proud to participate in the Home lot a solution for an ecommerce element our cus-
Compostable Polybag Project by Fashion for Good. tomers are all too familiar with – the polybag. This
As part of our Sustainability Strategy, C&A has set pilot not only moves us toward achieving our goal
high ambitions in the reduction of consumer-fac- of eliminating single-use plastic in consumer-fac-
ing plastic by 2028. This pilot project plays a cru- ing packaging by 2030, it also puts into practice
cial part in reaching C&A’s plastic reduction goal the industry collaboration required to solve these
and contributes significantly to an industry wide ubiquitous challenges in hopes of reducing harm-
transition.” - Aleix Busquets Gonzalez, Head of ful elements within the apparel supply chain.” -
Global Sustainability at C&A
Jeffrey Hogue, Chief Sustainability Officer, at Levi
Scaling Innovative Plastics Strauss & Co.
Building a Foundation for Circularity
There are several critical challenges to scaling home-
compostable bags: functionality, impact, cost and infra- The Home-Compostable Polybag Project is the third Fash-
structure, all of which will be assessed over the course of ion for Good polybag project following the Circular Polybag
the project. The innovative bags include bio-based con- Pilot (completed in 2020) and Reusable Packaging (com-
tent, which must be tested against key performance and pleted 2021) projects. These projects aim to validate inno-
quality properties, such as transparency, durability and vations that reduce the dependence on virgin fossil fuels,

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