BIOLO offers an alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics through its use of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a renewable plastic alternative that is certified by TÜV (formerly Vinçotte) for biodegradation in soil and marine environments as well as home and industrial composts. "PHA is made from plants, turns into feedstock for microorganisms, and leaves nothing behind. Simple as that," says Will Preston, CEO of BIOLO.
The House of LR&C (standing for Love, Respect & Care) was created in 2020 not only to create fashion brands with sustainability in their DNA, but to redefine the way the fashion industry works, to make it inclusive, community-led, and, above all, to create large-scale positive change. "It is exciting to see companies coming together to support creating positive impact," said Therese Hayes, Chief Sustainability Officer of The House LR&C. "This strategic partnership with BIOLO reduces plastic waste and supports our goal to consider sustainability throughout our product's life-cycle."
To fight single-use plastic waste, many companies have turned to compostable alternatives. Polylactic acid (PLA) has been one of the pioneering substrates and was a progressive step, but it only biodegrades in an industrial composting facility. In search of universally biodegradable plastic, researchers at Danimer Scientific looked to nature for inspiration. Danimer Scientific found that much like humans store extra calories as fat, bacteria store some of their energy as a natural plastic, known as Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). Since PHA is a natural source of fuel for bacteria, it breaks down quickly in any bioactive environment. "While PHA is a product of evolution and has been naturally occurring for millions of years, it is only recently that we have perfected our process for producing the biopolymer at a commercial scale. We call the PHA produced through our proprietary process Nodax® PHA." said Don Phillips, VP of Business Development at Danimer Scientific.
BIOLO has been working in partnership with Danimer Scientific for several years to perfect the manufacturing techniques necessary to bring PHA to the public through the form of flexible packaging, ocean safe straws, and more. Although PHA has been used by bacteria for millions of years, LITA's partnership with BIOLO marks the first time a North American company is exclusively using PHA packaging.
