Is it Really bio degradable?

In October 2021 I chopped up one of our Raw Silk exfoliators, dug a hole in my garden and planted the Raw Silk.

But, I digress.

You’ve heard the term bio-degradable right? How about eco-friendly?

These terms get thrown around quite a lot, especially in the beauty/fashion industry. EVERYONE wants to jump on the sustainability bandwagon because it’s ‘cool’.

BUT do we actually even know what it means? I thought I did. Then I read the site below and NOW I know more.

The 1 Million Women Organisation states;
Degradable simply refers to the ability of something to break down.
Biodegradable is degradable. But what sets biodegradable apart is that it can be ingested by bacteria and other micro-organisms, which facilitate a process called biodegradation.

You see a lot of things can be labelled as degradable. But we need to dig a little deeper and ask the questions. How long? In what environment?

Because the reality is, sometimes the labels means ‘eventually’ OR the items really need to be sent off to big industrial factories for the degradation to occur. And the simple truth is, we just don’t have access to these, so we stick it in the recycle and hope for the best.

Refer to the image above.

So this means that for a product / material to be labelled as bio degradable, it needs to breakdown at least 60% within 180 days.

It needs to decompose in a BIG commercial facility within a certain timeframe. Easy Peasy.

I wanted to take it one step further (one step easier) – as clearly, not everyone has access to a large commercial composting facility.

So I wanted to see if the Raw Silk exfoliators would do the same job – just in my own back yard.

Can it break down enough within 180 days OR should i just stop talking now?

So I decided to put our Raw Silk to the test.

So yes, in 2021, I chopped up and planted a used Raw Silk in my backyard.

After that gardening debut, I checked on the raw silk (a bit too often) until my mum (avid gardener since 1963) told me to stop digging it up and let the ground do its work.

So I left it alone and I dug it up for the final time 175 days later. (6 months)

Rather than use words to explain, I will just show you images and the video.