In South Korea, designer Hyunbin Kim has created a music box made out of used coffee grounds. Dubbed Snowie, the holiday-themed music box features a base made out of the compostable waste material, as well as an aluminum top and hat spring that serves as a winding mechanism. Once inserted and wound, Snowie plays Christmas […]
In New Zealand, a design student at Auckland University of Technology has won a design award for biodegradable shoelaces made from an underutilized wool. Jacob Smith’s “Woo-Lace” received the Silver Best Award for a Student & Academic Product in 2024. “The idea came about in an Auckland University of Technology project during my second year […]
In Mumbai, a “MycoMuseum” has been established to highlight how fungi can be used to sustainably create everyday items. Curated by Suyash Sawant and Bhakti Vinod Loonawat of Anomalia, a design collective, the exhibition includes mycelium furniture and material designs. The exhibit includes biodegradable blocks and wall system named MycoBlox, from by MYCL Bio and […]
In Spain, startup S.Lab has launched its fully automated production line for converting agricultural waste, linen and hemp into biodegradable packaging. The facility, located at Coín, has the capacity to produce 30,000 units per month. The company was originally based in Spain, but moved due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Julia Bialetska, CEO and co-founder of […]
In Nebraska, Falls City has earned recognition from the State of Nebraska for bioeconomy development. The city, with a population of 4,045, was honored as part of the Department of Economic Development’s Economic Development Certified Community program. It is Fall City’s fourth such certification since the program’s inception. The accolade comes shortly after Citroniq Chemicals, […]
In Israel, biobased foam produced by Balena has been chosen by Stella McCartney for its S-Wave Sport trainers. The foam-injected slides will be part of the brand’s Fall 2025 collection. The material, trade-named BioCir Flex, is also compostable and recyclable. Balena founder David Roubach says the deal is proof of Balena’s progress and the importance […]
In the US, Finnish food ingredient company Onego Bio has officially submitted its Generally Recognized as Safe notification to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Bioalbumen, a non-animal ovalbumin produced through precision fermentation using Trichoderma reesei. The move sets the stage for introduction of the first non-animal egg protein that mirrors the amino acid […]
In China, researchers from the University of Wuhan and Guangxi University have produced a fibrous, microplastics-attracting foam by combining cellulose fibers from cotton and chitin, a biopolymer the team sourced from squid skeletons. According to the team, sponges made out of the material were able to soak up upwards of 99% of the particles found […]
In London, clothing brand Vollebak has partnered with Japan’s Spiber, a company using molecular engineering to create biomaterial similar to spider silk, to create a 2024 line that includes a sweater, beanie and scarf. The process begins with yeast, which is cultivated to produce a unique biofabric that mimics the properties of wool. Once the […]
In Japan, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is using DURABIO, a biobased engineering plastic from the Mitsubishi Chemical Group, for the colored bodywork and windshield of its X-ADV motorcycles sold in Japan. According to Honda, DURABIO provides the toughness and other features required for motorcycle bodywork parts, as well as a “glossy, sophisticated look” achieved by […]
