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Sustainable startup Notpla has created an edible, biodegradable packaging made from seaweed and plants that was designed to replace plastic.

Notpla's eponymous packaging has been shortlisted for this year's Dezeen Awards in the sustainable design category.

Its name is a shortening of "not plastic," referring to the fact that while it looks plastic, the product is actually made from seaweed and plants.

Branding agency Superunion coined Notpla's name as well as a visual identity for the startup. This includes an animated logo that resembles a vessel filling up with water that is only visible when "filled" - as is the case with clear packaging.

"Notpla is a seaweed-based, sustainable packaging startup on a mission to make packaging as we know it disappear naturally," Superunion senior creative director Mark Wood told Dezeen.

"Every year, 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in the oceans. The world's behaviours need to change when it comes to single-use plastic," he explained.

According to Notpla's designers, the material is entirely biodegradable and edible and can be composted at home in four to six weeks.

So far, the packaging has been used to create thin films and coating for cardboard takeaway boxes, as well sachets for condiments.

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Notpla says seaweed is a sustainable material from which to create packaging because the underwater plant does not need to compete with food crops for land, and also sequesters carbon dioxide - the process of removing it from the atmosphere.

The startup is also behind Ooho, which are sachets made from Notpla designed to be consumed by runners during sporting events.

In 2019, Ooho was trialled at the London Marathon where runners were offered the sachets, which were filled with Lucozade sports drink, while they ran.

The Notpla designers have also created smaller-scale versions of Ohoo that are intended to hold liquids such as toothpaste, coffee and suncream.

"The ultimate aim is to stop billions of single-use plastic packaging from ever being made by providing a positive alternative," Wood said. "We believe Notpla has the potential to turn the tide on plastic waste."

Formerly known as Skipping Rock Lab before Superunion rebranded it, Notpla was founded by Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and Pierre Paslier in 2014 while the pair were studying Innovation Design Engineering.

Other projects nominated in the Dezeen Awards sustainable category include Honext panels, which are made from recycled cardboard and paper sludge, and Alive, an organic prototype for architecture that promotes human health.
The images are courtesy of Notpla and Superunion. Project credits:
Senior creative director, Superunion: Mark Wood
Designer, Superunion: Ilaria Celata
Senior account manager, Superunion: Nicola Bennett-Cook
Co-founder, Notpla: Pierre Paslier
Co-founder, Notpla: Rodrigo Gonzales
Chief financial officer, Notpla: Lise Honsinger

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Notpla is a biodegradable material created "to make packaging disappear"

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Sustainable startup Notpla has created an edible, biodegradable packaging made from seaweed and plants that was designed to replace plastic.

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A new service offers to help beauty brands reduce plastic waste by distributing their products in dissolvable and compostable refills.

The startup, called On Repeat, has developed "easy and cost-effective" refill packs that can be used for a range of different liquids, powders and balms.

The packs are made using materials that can be easily disposed of at home, including a non-toxic film that dissolves in hot water, a bio-based film that can be put in a compost heap, and FSC-certified cardboard.

As well as producing the packaging, the London-based company offers a complete packing and distribution service.

The UK uses an estimated five million tonnes of plastic every year, nearly half of which is packaging. Yet a recent report from The British Beauty Council revealed that 91 per cent of consumers want their products to have less packaging and 88 per cent want to be able to refill their cosmetics.

For On Repeat founder Micaela Nisbet, this was the impetus to start the business. She hopes to attract many different brands to sign up so that she can have a significant impact on reducing plastic waste.

"It needs to be big in order to effect proper change," she told Dezeen.

"We want to reach the broader market, not just the eco-hippy-mama market," she said. "For us to do that, the service needs to be super easy and cost-effective for both brands and consumers. Because if it isn't, people are not going to come back to it."

Nisbet developed the concept after customers for her own skincare brand, Neighbourhood Botanicals, started asking her if they could order refills.

She couldn't find a solution she felt was genuinely sustainable because while it is easy to source recyclable plastic films, often they are not disposed of as intended.

"It's only rigid plastics like bottles that really get recycled," Nisbet explained. "So when brands sell refills that say they are fully recyclable, it's true in theory but it just doesn't happen in practice."

After testing more than 50 different types of film, Nisbet and her business partners selected two films that they felt could cover all different types of cosmetic products.

For transporting anhydrous serums and oils, they chose a film that dissolves completely in boiling water.

Rather than producing microplastics, it turns into carbon dioxide, water and natural minerals that can be rinsed down the drain.

Water-based products are packaged using a bio-based film made from ingredients that include paper, eucalyptus fibre, cassava and corn starch. It completely decomposes in 32 weeks when placed in a composter.

All products are encased in a cardboard wrapper printed with vegetable inks.

The system is designed to be as simple as possible. Brands send their product in bulk form, then On Repeat takes care of the rest.

On Repeat integrates a brand's e-commerce store into its own distribution software, so it can fulfil orders as they come in. Product is packaged up into the refill packs - along with custom labels including the brand's logo, product information and batch codes - and sent out for delivery within 24 hours.

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The refill wallets are small enough to fit through a letterbox so that the customer doesn't have to be home to receive deliveries.

To use the refill, the customer follows instructions on the packaging. They cut the corner off the wallet with a pair of scissors and decant the product into an empty refill bottle, ready for use.

Neighbourhood Botanicals sells its own products in glass and aluminium bottles, to make them better suited for refilling than plastic.

On Repeat is not the first company experimenting with refill options.

Hand wash company Forgo and cleaning products company Spruce are among those that offer products in powder form to reduce the amount of packaging required. Customers then add water themselves.

Brands such as Myro and Fussy have created refillable deodorants, while By Humankind offers a range of refillable products that include mouthwash.

Nisbet hopes to open up the world of refills to an even larger audience. She said that, as the brand expands, she would like to set up her own farm so that she can produce the compostable and dissolvable films herself. She also imagines branching out into other types of home products besides toiletries.

"We just want to make that process as seamless as possible," she said. "We want to make it so everyone can get exactly the products that they want and not have to compromise."

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On Repeat wants to help cosmetics brands switch to more sustainable packaging

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New service On Repeat offers to help beauty brands reduce plastic waste by packaging and distributing their products in dissolvable and compostable refills.