In Hyderabad, India, a startup is making building materials, particle board alternatives, acoustic panels and plastics out of cow dung. The (hopefully odor-free) products were recently showcased at the Grand Startup Conclave organized by India’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. “Our ultimate goal for this year is to set up micro-factories across India wherever […]
In Toulouse, France, biotech and green chemistry company PILI has raised $15.8 million to accelerate commercialization and scale-up of its fermentation-based indigo. The funds will be used to set up a demonstration unit to complement an industrial pilot that began operations last year. PILI says several million euros of preorders for its biobased dyes and […]
In New Jersey, fashion brand Tory Burch is using material from plant-based leather pioneer Modern Meadow in its iconic Ella tote. Dubbed Ella Bio, the tote’s outer shell is made of BioFabbrica Bio-Tex™, a USDA-certified plant-based material using soy. BioFabbrica Bio-Tex “feels and looks like leather” but is 64% biobased content, Jennifer Gootman, global head […]
In Australia, Provectus Algae has secured an undisclosed strategic investment from CJ BIO, a division of South Korea-based food and biotechnology company CJ CheilJedang. Provectus Algae programs microalgae to produce specialty ingredients using both natural and synthetic biology approaches. The strategic investment by CJ BIO provides Provectus Algae with additional funds to accelerate commercialization efforts. […]
In Sweden and Finland, Kemira and Metsä Group have agreed to accelerate a cooperation focused on developing a new sustainable product or raw material based on the forest industry by 2027. Kemira and Metsä Group will establish a joint product development group, and in a joint press release say the most interesting development options for […]
In New York, PETA has asked Pharrell Williams to use his new appointment as Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director to encourage the luxury brand to ban animal fur and transition to biobased alternatives. In a letter to the “Happy” hitmaker, PETA Celebrity Outreach Principal Jessica Shotorbani notes that Louis Vuitton is one of the last […]
In Spain, a startup called Persiskin has developed a new type of vegan leather from waste persimmons. The plant-based leather was developed at University of Valencia using a €2-million ($2.2-million) investment from la Comunidad Valencia and textile industry research association AITEX. The purpose of the grant was to find a use for the 500 million […]
In India, banana has become the latest fruit to be turned into vegan leather. Dubbed Banofi, the material was developed by Kolkata’s Atma Leather using upcycled banana crop waste as feedstock. India is one of the world’s largest producers of bananas, a crop that generates four tons of waste for every ton of edible fruit. […]
In Bangladesh, several Rohingya refugee families are among the first to use new shelters made of jute and a plant-based plastic from Applied Bioplastics. Designed to replace shacks usually made of bamboo and tarps, the new shelters even withstood the typhoon that hit the Southeast Asian country in 2022. The material “is cheap and doesn’t […]
In the United Kingdom, prolific designer Julian Melchiorri has introduced a chandelier concept that incorporates air-purifying algae. Dubbed Exhale, the living chandelier consists of 70 glass leaves full of green algae that absorb carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. Exhale is designed to work both inside and outdoors and was on display at London Design Week, […]
