A packaging revolution is required if we're to eliminate the amount of waste we continually generate on a daily basis and then thoughtlessly dump on other countries.
Companies such as Sway could be part of the solution to this problem, and are already beginning to make waves with their award-winning seaweed based packaging products. Winner of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, their products are well designed and pleasing to the eye, with a 12 month life span and are fully compostable.
With an urgent need to lessen the amount of virgin plastics used and cut down the amount of plastic that ends up in land fill sites and our oceans, industries such as dry cleaning companies and floral delivery companies would be a great place to start utilising these alternative products in order to make an immediate difference. Companies such as Target, Walmart and EVS Health and J. Crew have partnered with them and bigger roll outs are planned as they launch the products publicly in the coming months primarily across the fashion apparel industry. The plastic films it produces have dual benefits in that they have a positive environmental impact and protect the garments. Every brand on the planet needs to reduce its plastic and cut its carbon emissions meaning these forward thinking companies are at the forefront of innovation and the scaleability and potential usage is enormous.
The seaweed used to make the materials can sequester up to 20 times more carbon per acre than trees, all without requiring fresh water, land, pesticides or other inputs. They work with off shore seaweed farms that grow in particular places such as Mexico, Columbia, Chile Brazil, Alaska and the east coast of the U.S. Another benefit of seaweed farming is that it offers employment to places that have been affected by over fishing and it requires less labor and less costs in the production process.
Keep your eyes peeled for more innovative companies that are at the forefront of the packaging revolution such as Kelpi and ZeroCircle who are also tapping into the potential of this natural products super-powers.