Packing based on seaweed

Agar Plasticity

“Agar Plasticity” is a materials research project exploring agar as an alternative to synthetic plastics. The project was awarded in the category ,ANTICIPATION’ at the Lexus Design Award 2016. Food packaging creates a lot of unnecessary waste. 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 sold mainly in dried state in the form of blocks, flakes and powder. Blockagar 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.

#changemaker #sustainable #environment #green #eco #biobased

Product Name: Agar Plasticity
Manufacturer: Kosuke Araki
Project status: Concept // Prototype // Market Ready // Series Production Ready

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