sulapac, the biodegradable material that wants to fight plastic

created in finland, sulapac ® is a completely biodegradable material free of microplastics made of wood and natural binders. with almost 300 million tons of plastic being produced every year, there is a chance that by 2050 there will be more of this material than fish in our oceans. after taking a close look at their bathrooms and the products they owned, biochemists specializing in biomaterials suvi haimi and laura kyllönen embarked themselves on the mission of finding a solution to this problem.

all images courtesy of sulapac ®

the result is sulapac ® — a biodegradable material that challenges plastic by replacing the traditional fossil-based material with one that doesn’t pollute the environment. the good thing about it is that it has plastic-like properties like water and oil resistance and it doesn’t penetrate oxygen. it is a very versatile material that allows for unlimited design possibilities while competing with the cost of plastic. as for production, it can be mass-produced with the same equipment as plastic.

the uses for sulapac ® are many, including packaging for everything from cosmetics to foodstuff to gift boxes and more. the latest use sees a microplastic-free, marine degradable and mass producible straw. if this straw ends up in the ocean, it will not harm the ecosystem as naturally occurring micro-organisms can digest and transform it into CO2, H2O and biomass.

project info:

name: sulapac

website: https://www.sulapac.com