Manifesto
We can’t keep pulling oil from the ground to make single-use plastic
The world needs packaging materials. But it’s time to ditch fossil-fuel plastics for a new generation of sustainable packaging with superior performance and ready-made end-of-life options.
Around 8% of the world’s oil is used to make plastic right now. Plastics and other petrochemical products are expected to account for more than a third of global oil demand growth by 2030 and nearly half of demand growth by 2050. Today, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled globally; only 12% has been incinerated; 40% ends up in landfill; and a third in fragile ecosystems such as the world’s oceans.
If present trends continue, by 2050, there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfill. And by 2050 there will be more waste plastic than fish in the sea.
Seaweed is a miracle crop.
It grows prolifically without need for fertilisers, land or fresh water.
Seaweed can play a major role in fighting climate change – absorbing carbon emissions; regenerating marine ecosystems; and as a feedstock for renewable bioplastics.
As seaweed grows, it soaks up and stores carbon, while de-acidifying and re-oxygenating the ocean. More than half the oxygen you breathe comes from marine photosynthesisers like seaweed and phytoplankton.
Kelpi uses seaweed to create unique biopolymers – from which we make our bioplastic coatings. So each piece of packaging that we create from seaweed will mean less demand for fossil fuels, less carbon dioxide emissions.
And Kelpi’s bioplastic packaging is home compostable and marine-safe, meaning after use it will readily decompose, leaving no toxins, in less than a year.
Our mission is to combine profit with sustainability for the good of our planet.
As a B Corp, we are committed to the Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet and Profit. We strive to deliver impact, while turning a profit. Neither is more important, but to achieve one without the other would be failure.
Kelpi is proud to be part of a new wave of innovators helping to address climate change through reducing demand for fossil fuels.
We’re not the only company to recognise the huge potential of seaweed. And we’re not the first to make bioplastics from it. But we’re proud to be amongst the first wave of new biotech businesses pushing at the leading edge of scientific research in this area to bring new products to market; creating skilled jobs; and contributing to the green GDP by remaining profitable.