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The material itself is a lightweight and durable material, somewhat similar to foam. Unlike regular plastic or foam, S. Lab products completely decompose in the soil in 30 days.
The couple came up with the idea for this packaging while on a trip to Bali. Once, on the beach, instead of the beautiful nature of the island, they saw mountains of plastic waste that had been thrown out of the ocean. They began to study the information to create a new environmentally friendly material. The alternatives that existed at the time did not have the necessary properties to replace plastic.
Yulia Bialetska and Yevhen Tomilin. Photo: S. Lab
“To create a new material, you need two components: something that gives it structure, and something that glues it all together. And we set ourselves the task of finding two natural components,” explains Yulia.
Photo: S.Lab
They began purchasing industrial hemp from one of the largest Ukrainian suppliers, and growing mushrooms themselves. According to Yulia, it takes up to five days to make one product from their material.
Photo: S.Lab
The Mykola Kholodny Institute of Botany in Kyiv helped create the optimal formula for the material.
S. Lab tried creating tableware, decor, and building materials, but ultimately focused on packaging materials.
Photo: S.Lab
“Every year, more than 2 million tons of foam packaging are produced in the world, which leads to 12 million tons of CO2 emissions. In addition, foam is not recyclable and takes 300 years to decompose. 30% of the world's landfills are covered with foam! So the transition to environmentally friendly packaging has a positive impact on climate change,” says the CEO of S. Lab.
Photo: S.Lab
The startup's first official client was the Altruist restaurant. They made special boxes for them, in which waiters give visitors a check. Then the startup began to be approached by cosmetic brands, clothing manufacturers, sellers of electronic devices, etc.
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