Mycelium, the vegetative part of fungi, grows by digesting organic material including low-cost agricultural waste streams (such as cotton, corn, wheat, hemp, and flax residues), and is being increasingly used to replace petroleum-based plastics, particularly in packaging and insulation. Fast growing, with minimal energy and water needs combined with unique aesthetic qualities mycelium offers the […]
Materials
Luxury Handbag Market Faces Eco Crisis—Who’s Fighting Back?
The luxury handbag market is estimated to be worth a staggering US$72.7 billion (in 2023) and consumes between 5 and 10% of global leather production (totaling around 2 billion square meters annually). All these bags are held together with plastic-based components with foams used for filling, making it impossible to recycle discarded bags. With such […]
What a load of wrap
It’s hard to deny that cling film is a useful product in the kitchen. When used to wrap prepared food or unused veggies it can help keep food fresher for longer and reduce food waste. But soft plastics are challenging to collect and sort for recycling, meaning most of it ends up in landfill, where […]
Are your trainers really green?
Running shoes and athletic footwear are usually made from a range of plastic foams and fabrics which are stitched or glued together, effectively preventing recycling at the end of life. Alarmingly many of the materials traditionally used for insoles and midsoles rely on chemical foaming agents, which can release VOCs (volatile organic compounds) during use, […]
An environmentally friendly alternative to strengthen plastics
Environmentally conscious designers and manufacturers are increasingly looking for recycled plastics and bioplastics to replace virgin fossil plastics. It is often challenging to find suitable materials for any project. Without seeking to make this challenge harder, it is important that potential purchasers establish what has been added to these materials to improve their strength or […]
Not just a new material – a new production ecosystem
It’s an exciting time in the world of materials with universities and start-ups seemingly announcing alternatives to virgin fossil plastics almost every day. Many research projects are focused on developing new materials that cause less environmental impacts when compared with the virgin fossil plastics they are designed to replace. Typically, these materials are designed to […]
Mass-balance – is it a con?
Mass balance is being promoted by plastic manufacturers (particularly BASF) as the solution to the recycling crisis. But are ‘mass-balanced’ plastics the same as recycled plastics? If you purchase a product made using mass-balanced plastic, does it contain only recycled plastics? Does your purchase result in lower environmental impacts? To create mass-balanced plastics relatively small […]