In France, an entrepreneurial couple is repurposing mangos and bananas to produce a slaughter-free leather alternative. Loïc Debrabander and Anaëlle Picavet launched VegSkin because of a lack of sustainable leathers, telling the publication 20 minutes that while animal-free leather does exist, it is often made from polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride—both of which come from petroleum feedstocks. “We were looking for […]
In the Netherlands, startup Qorium has raised €2.6 million ($3.1 million) to advance its cell culture and tissue engineering process for producing collagen for slaughter-free leather. The funding was led by Brightlands Venture Partners. Funds will be used to scale up R&D at the company’s campus at Maastricht University. “Qorium is a game-changing technology that will bring sustainable natural leather to the […]
In Tokyo, the much-anticipated—and COVID-disrupted—Olympic Games will soon get underway, with athletes sleeping off their exertions in beds made from recycled cardboard. Airwearve, a Japanese bedding company, made 18,000 cardboard bedframes and polyethylene fiber mattresses that can be recycled infinitely. 8,000 of the eco-friendly beds will be reused at the Paralympic Games, and eventually all […]
In Nebraska, The Arbor Day Foundation is exploring the use of trees and beneficial microbes to clean Superfund sites contaminated by hazardous waste. Current remediation methods, such as soil excavation and pump and treatment of ground water, are labor-intensive and costly. The use of trees alone is often insufficient to remove contaminants like metals, oils, and hydrocarbons because the trees […]
In London, a startup working to produce polyester precursors from renewable materials has raised £12.5 million ($17.3 million) in an investment round that included actress Emma Watson and Twitter cofounder Biz Stone. FabricNano uses cell-free biomanufacturing, which involves coaxing enzymes and proteins to produce chemicals on a DNA wafer. This method avoids many of the […]
In Berlin, luxury luggage brand Horizn Studios has unveiled a range of 100% plant-based luggage. Dubbed Circle One, the luggage uses BioX, a woven material made from flax that a byproduct of linseed production. This material is combined with an environmentally friendly resin to create a 100% biodegradable hard shell. The bag’s handles are infused […]
In Italy, quicky, circular-focused design firm Krill Design has introduced Ohmie, a bright orange lamp made from orange waste. About 3 Sicilian oranges are used for each Ohmie, according to Wired. The peels are converted into a biopolymer developed in partnership with Autogrill, an international catering company. The biopolymer is then used to 3D print […]
In Japan, eyewear brand Vava has launched two sunglass designs that use material made from castor beans. Famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma—known for many buildings, including a stadium for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games—collaborated on the design of the 3-D printed frames. “The collection manifests many of Kuma’s architectural imaginings, especially the architect’s […]
In South Carolina, Tidal Vision is building a production plant to manufacture textile treatments made from chitosan, a seafood industry byproduct from the shells of crabs and shrimp. Dubbed Tidal-Tex, the treatment is a drop-in replacement for the harmful chemicals often used in current textile treatments. “Our proprietary lower-cost chitosan technology, combined with lower freight […]
In India, Clariant and India Glycols have established a joint venture to produce biobased ethylene oxide derivatives for the Indian home and personal care markets. The JV, Clariant IGL Specialty Chemicals Private Limited, is 51% owned by Clariant and has about 200 employees. It combines India Glycols’ biobased EO derivatives business, which operates an alkoxylation […]
