How to read a biodegradation lab report (so no brand can greenwash you)
"Biodegradable" is the most abused word in eco marketing. Here is how to audit the claim in five checks — using our own 23-page lab report as the worked example.
Why this matters
Any material biodegrades eventually — petroleum plastic included, on a timescale of centuries. So the bare word "biodegradable" is technically true of almost everything and practically meaningless. Regulators agree: unqualified biodegradability claims are a classic greenwashing pattern. The only way to separate a real material advance from a sticker is to read the lab report. Most shoppers never get past the marketing page; this guide is the five-minute version of what the report actually says.
The five checks
1. Which standard was used?
The test standard defines the environment the claim applies to — and nothing outside it:
| Standard | Simulated environment | What a pass means |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 14855 / ASTM D5338 | Industrial composting (~58°C, controlled) | Breaks down in municipal compost facilities |
| ASTM D5511 | Anaerobic digestion / landfill-like | Different, gentler bar — check the fine print |
| ASTM D6691 | Marine environment | Ocean claims need THIS one, not a compost test |
| "Home compost" marks (e.g. TÜV OK compost HOME) | ~25°C backyard pile | The hardest bar; very few frame materials pass |
Our frames were tested under ISO 14855-1 — controlled industrial composting. That is exactly what we claim, and all we claim.
2. At what temperature and conditions?
Industrial composting runs at 58°C with managed humidity and microbe populations — conditions your backyard pile never reaches. A number earned at 58°C says nothing about a garden, a landfill, or the ocean. When you see "biodegradable" next to a beach photo, ask which environment the test simulated.
3. Over how long, and what does the curve look like?
Biodegradation is measured as a curve over time, not a yes/no. Our test ran 150 days, with the curve still climbing at the end. A report that quotes a percentage without a timeframe ("90% biodegradable!") is hiding the axis that matters.
4. What exact percentage, measured how?
The standard measures the CO₂ released by microbes digesting the material, compared against a cellulose reference. Ours reached 55.8% biodegradation at day 150. Two honest notes on what that number is not: it is not "55.8% of the frame disappeared" (it is mineralization measured by carbon conversion), and it is not 100% — we publish the real curve instead of rounding up to a fantasy.
5. Who ran the test?
Self-declared numbers are marketing; numbers from an accredited independent third-party laboratory are evidence. Our testing was commissioned to an independent internationally accredited lab, and the full 23-page report — method, conditions, curve, reference material — backs every figure on this site.
Red flags cheat sheet
- "Biodegradable" with no standard, temperature, duration, or % — decoration, not data.
- A compost logo but no named certification scheme — logos are drawable; schemes are auditable.
- Ocean imagery with a compost-standard test (or no test) — wrong environment, wrong claim.
- "100% biodegradable" — real curves rarely say 100%; suspiciously round numbers deserve suspicion.
- No third-party lab named or accredited — ask who measured it, and how.
The honest part (ours)
- Our frames are not backyard-compostable. 55.8% at 150 days was earned at 58°C industrial conditions. In your garden they will not vanish.
- Landfills are not composters. Sealed landfills lack the oxygen and microbes the test assumes; we do not claim landfill biodegradation.
- Material end-of-life is one slice of impact — sourcing (wood pulp from FSC/PEFC/SFI-certified suppliers, 50%+ biocarbon) and product lifespan matter as much. The most sustainable sunglasses are the ones you keep wearing.
FAQ
An international standard measuring aerobic biodegradation of plastics under controlled industrial-composting conditions (~58°C), tracked as CO₂ evolution against a cellulose reference.
Under ISO 14855-1 industrial composting at 58°C, microbes converted 55.8% of the material's carbon within 150 days, with the curve still rising. It does not mean the frame disappears in a backyard or landfill.
No — and we say so plainly. The tested claim is industrial composting only. Very few frame materials on the market pass genuine home-compost standards.
An independent, internationally accredited third-party laboratory, in a 23-page report covering method, conditions, and the full biodegradation curve.
Read the full materials deep-dive → See the lab-tested collection 5-point quality checklist