Packaging made from algae. Is this the future? We explain how.
Two years ago we came into contact with Notpla . A startup from England that is committed to making packaging from algae. A difficult process that involves a lot of development and raises questions such as "what is really sustainable?" and "when will this be proven?".
Questions we ask ourselves every day. "What is the power of algae?" It is so versatile that we are constantly looking at how we can best use this special organism for a healthier world.
Notpla turned out to be a party that really focuses on a healthier world and that continues to amaze us with solutions based on algae. For us it was a “no brainer” to join forces and get this beautiful solution further into the world. 
At plnktn. we want to set a standard that inspires other companies to do better. We therefore invest in more expensive packaging, but in doing so we create significantly less negative impact.
Our situation
The subscription model means that customers receive a new supply of algae supplements every X number of weeks. We currently send 70% of our total amount of packages via letterbox packages. Packages that we will now replace with algae packaging. Not a small number of our packages, but tens of thousands of packages annually! This way we can really make an impact.
Product information
The cardboard currently consists of 30% algae. Notpla is continuously innovating to ensure that this percentage can be increased, but currently this is the best ratio in terms of quality & sustainability.
Impact
The environmental impact per package is 70% lower compared to conventional cardboard. For us the reason to switch immediately. The impact of the packaging on the earth is measured over 5 categories:
- Climate warming danger
- Biogenic Global Warming Hazard
- Risk of acidification
- Eutrophication hazard
- Human toxicity hazard
“A cradle to grave LCA conducted by University College London in 2022 compared Notpla board to conventional virgin pulp paper. The results showed that Notpla board has an 88% lower global warming potential (GWP) and a 70% lower impact across all environmental impact categories examined. By using seaweed by-products instead of virgin pulp, we avoid cutting down 4 tonnes of trees for every tonne of seaweed by-product used in Notpla paper.”
Costs
Our costs by choosing algae packaging have gone up, we are honest about that. If we can make industry wide changes want to bring about then openness and correct information are important. Our costs were €0.34 and have almost doubled to €0.60 per package. Many entrepreneurs would be shocked by this, but this is the reality of a change that is starting to happen.
We believe in embracing and investing in more sustainable initiatives early and therefore compromise on our profits. Precisely to stimulate change instead of waiting until it is cost-effective enough to consider a sustainable solution.
Would you like to know more about the implementation of our packaging, get in touch with Notpla or are you simply enthusiastic about algae?
You can reach us at info@plnktn.com
Feel the power of Algae 🌱