Plant based Flipflop sole made from high performance algae foam. (Credit: algenesismaterials.com)
San Diego based material science and technology company Algenesis has developed the patented Soleic technology, which is said to be the world’s first high performance, renewable, and fully biodegradable plastic material made from algae. Their initial product line consists of soft foams for footwear and hard foams for surfboards. With Blueview they have created an entirely plant-based shoe, allowing every single component to biodegrade under aerobic composting conditions (ASTM D5338) - which means, the shoe will completely break down when exposed to air, moisture, and microorganisms in compost. For this purpose they have been working closely with knitting machine suppliers and programmers to create biodegradable uppers made from hemp and eucalyptus yarn, the most eco-friendly of its kind. The result is Plant Knit, the world’s first plant-based and fully biodegradable machine knitted shoe upper.
Flip-Flops Made From Plants And Algae Can Help Reduce Plastic Pollution | World Wide Waste
