Packing based on seaweed

A versatile raw material

Agar Plasticity is a materials research project in which agar is being investigated as an alternative to synthetic plastics. Agar is a traditional Japanese food that is often used to make sweets. However, it is also used worldwide in the scientific and medical fields. It is mainly sold in a dried
state in the form of blocks, flakes and powder. Block agar has a porous, feather-like structure and is very light despite its volume – ideal properties for a packaging material. The raw material is two types of red algae that grow and are harvested worldwide. The agar is extracted by boiling.

Product name: Agar Plasticity
Manufacturer: Kosuke Araki
Project status: Concept // Prototype // Ready for market // Ready for series production

Source: Peters, Sascha; Drewes, Diana: Materials in Progress. Innovations for Designers and Architects, Basel 2019, p. 93.
Image source: Kosuke Araki