Courtesy
Many everyday objects are made of plastics, one type of polymers that is typically non-biodegradable and quite stable. Plastic waste can last for centuries in the environment. With an increasingly large scale of production of plastics, plastic pollution is becoming a major environmental issue. Allbirds is a clothes and shoe company that may help in addressing this issue. The innovation is using SweetFoam, made from sugarcane, instead of petroleum-derived plastics, for shoe parts, such as soles, and shoelace tips. The used parts of sugarcane would otherwise be discarded and release carbon dioxide. Therefore, the innovation cuts the use of plastics and potentially the release of carbon dioxide. It is likely that some research lab found that sugarcane components could be used to produce foam in a cost effective way. It took some ingenuity to connect a lab-produced biomaterial with shoes. What other ideas might result from this? We can consider many places where we may use foam: sofa, cars, chair, pillow, rug, and industrial equipment. In addition, sugarcane can also be used for biofuel, which is a big industry in Brazil. Therefore, it might be possible to collect used shoes for biofuel.
In general, using green materials is a long term trend. It is inevitable that plastics will be gradually replaced with more sustainable materials. Innovators who can develop such materials in large scale and low cost will create enormous commercial and social value, so will those who develop technologies to degrade plastics or convert it into useful materials or fuel.
Link: https://www.allbirds.com/
Contact: help@allbirds.com
Location: California, US
Mentioned: among the best inventions of the year by Time
Purpose
Reduce the use of fossil fuel-based materials (such as plastics)
Idea
Make use of what is abundant (such as sugarcane)
Further Possibilities
1. Use SweetFoam in furniture, kitchen utensils, and toys
2. Use SweetFoam in cars
3. Collect used SweetFoam for producing biofuel
4. Genetically modify sugarcane to increase yield and hence the production of SweetFoam
5. Develop technologies to produce biomaterials from bacteria
Questions
1. What other fields need sustainable materials?
2. What might be all the ways to recycle plastics?
3. What are the disadvantages of using sugarcane-based materials?
