Frequently asked questions

• What is CiCLO® technology?
  A patented additive integrated into polyester fibres during manufacturing. It creates billions of microscopic biodegradable points in the fibre, allowing naturally occurring microbes to break the material down over time, much as they do with natural fibres.
• Which parts of the media wall are biodegradable?
  The printed display fabric — that’s what the CiCLO® data covers, and it’s the largest component by surface area. The aluminium frame, zips, thread and eyelets are conventional materials, and we make no biodegradation claim about them. The frame is designed to be reused across campaigns and is recyclable through standard metal recycling, so the best environmental outcome is to keep your frame and reprint the sleeve.
• Will CiCLO® fabric perform differently, or wear out faster?
  Print quality, tensile strength, dimensional stability, colourfastness and hand-feel are unchanged. The one practical difference: CiCLO® fabric is slightly less elastic than our standard display fabric, so the sleeve can feel a little firmer to fit over the frame on installation. It fits the same frames to the same sizes — expect a firmer pull, not a different product. Durability and working life are unaffected. Biodegradation only occurs with sustained exposure to moisture and microorganisms, which doesn’t happen during normal use, display, cleaning or storage.
• Is CiCLO® fabric safe and non-toxic?
  Yes. The chemistry is ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX® certified, REACH compliant, and independently tested as non-toxic to plant, marine and aquatic life.
• How long does it take to biodegrade?
  There’s no single fixed number, and any supplier who gives you one is guessing — real-world rates depend on temperature, moisture and microbial activity. Under controlled laboratory conditions, CiCLO® fabric reached over 90% biodegradation within roughly 950–1,360 days, or two and a half to just under four years. The meaningful comparison is against untreated polyester, which showed only 0–6% biodegradation over the same period.
• Do the printing inks biodegrade?
  Two separate questions here, and they have different answers. Does the print prevent the fabric from biodegrading? No finish or chemistry tested to date has been found to inhibit biodegradation of CiCLO® fibre. Do the inks themselves biodegrade? We make no biodegradation claim about our inks. We print with water-based dye-sublimation inks, which contain synthetic dyes. The claim on this product is about the fabric.
• How should I dispose of an old CiCLO® fabric sign?
  CiCLO® fabric is biodegradable, not compostable — these are different standards. It should not go in a compost bin or a green/FOGO bin; commercial composting facilities don’t accept textiles. Where a specialised textile recovery program is available to you, reuse or recovery is the best outcome. Otherwise general waste is the right path: CiCLO® is specifically designed to biodegrade under the conditions found in a biologically active landfill, unlike untreated synthetics which persist for centuries. Keep the aluminium frame and reprint the sleeve — that’s the lowest-impact option by a wide margin.
• Is CiCLO® fabric made in Australia?
  Printing, sewing and finishing happen at our Sydney facility on 24-hour production, using base fabric sourced from OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified mills overseas.
• Which products are available with CiCLO® technology, and what’s next?
  We’re launching with Stretch Fabric Media Walls. More of our fabric signage products are in development and we’ll add them to the CiCLO® range as they’re validated.
• What happens if a fabric sign ends up as litter or in the ocean?
  This is the problem CiCLO® technology is designed to address. Untreated synthetic fabric that ends up as litter or marine debris can persist for centuries, shedding microplastics the whole time. CiCLO®-enhanced fabric is engineered to biodegrade under those conditions instead — independent laboratory testing showed 92% biodegradation in sea water within 592 days, versus 3% for comparable untreated fibre.* It’s still best practice to reuse, recycle or dispose of signage responsibly. CiCLO® is the safety net, not the plan.
• Is CiCLO® a marketing claim, or is it independently proven?
  Independently proven. The biodegradation data comes from accredited third-party laboratories using internationally recognised test methods — ISO 19679 (sea water), ISO 15985 (landfill) and ISO 17556 (soil) — not from Easy Signs or from CiCLO® themselves. Two separate things you can verify: the chemistry — ask us for the ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX® certificate number and check it yourself at oeko-tex.com/en/label-check; and the biodegradation studies — these sit with CiCLO®’s owner, Intrinsic Advanced Materials, and are published at ciclotextiles.com. If you need study detail for a tender or sustainability report, contact us and we’ll route the request.