Tom Ford Beauty and Lonely Whale celebrated World Oceans Week and International Seaweed Day with an event at the Explorers Club in New York City on 5 June 2024, and showcased seaweed-based alternatives to traditional thin-film plastic.
The new alternative was developed by the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Accelerator.
Prize winners Sway, Zerocircle, and Notpla presented their innovations, designed to replace thin-film plastic, which accounts for nearly half of all new plastic waste entering the ocean each year. Sway creates home compostable packaging replacements using seaweed.
Zerocircle produces ocean-safe packaging materials from locally cultivated seaweed that dissolve harmlessly after use. Notpla pioneers natural membrane packaging using seaweed as an alternative to single-use plastic.
Nineteen brands have committed to trials of these seaweed-based materials, with many already underway. Successes include supply chain trials by J.Crew and MillerKnoll with Sway, Burton with Sway and Zerocircle, consumer-facing pilots with Sway involving brands like NOAH, Le Club, and Florence, a value chain trial with Notpla and Stella McCartney, and a distribution partnership between Notpla and Imperial Dade.
Tim Silman, programme director at Lonely Whale, explained, "The Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Accelerator, powered by Lonely Whale, is phase two of ‘Unwrap the Future.’
"It was a one-year programme aimed to advance awareness of traditional thin-film plastic and accelerate the market adoption of seaweed-based alternatives developed by the winners of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize: Sway, Zerocircle, and Notpla."
Details on the successes were provided during the event. "J.Crew tested Sway’s seaweed-based alternative packaging with a wide range of products, from denim to shoes, throughout the entire distribution centre workflow," Silman noted. "This trial provided valuable insights, helping both Sway understand how their technology performed in a supply chain, and J.Crew plan the next steps in their polybag replacement journey. MillerKnoll is currently conducting performance testing to assess Sway’s materials and identify potential use cases."
Phillip Sarofim, founder of Trousdale Ventures, stated, "Being the venture capital partner of the Accelerator is an honour. By accelerating capital access for the prize winners, we're igniting their potential to forge powerful, long-term partnerships with leading brands."
The event also featured the trailer for the upcoming documentary "Seaweed Stories," directed by Jake Sumner. The film highlights the wonders of seaweed and its various applications, including those by Indigenous Shinnecock Kelp Farmers and a Silicon Valley startup creating plastic alternatives from algae.
"Seaweed Stories is a charming educational film directed by Jake Sumner for Lonely Whale, highlighting some of the extraordinary stories and characters orbiting this miraculous plant," Silman concluded.
