Over the past year, LOLIWARE has made significant steps towards achieving a plastic-free future. We’ve seen important progress towards a global plastics treaty, ongoing growth in the seaweed aquaculture and seaweed biomaterials industries to provide replacements to plastic, and key achievements from LOLIWARE itself in funding milestones, scaled product production, and the securing of new strategic partnerships. While there is still plenty of work to be done, we want to use Earth Month 2023 as an opportunity to reflect on some of the key accomplishments since last year’s Earth Day celebrations as well as important milestones on the horizon for 2023:
LOLIWARE’s Seaweed-Based Resins have Proven Compatibility with Existing Manufacturing Equipment, Opening Up Possibilities for Plastic Replacements
Last April, in a pivotal moment for both LOLIWARE and the seaweed biomaterials sector as a whole, LOLIWARE announced a new partnership with midwest manufacturer Sinclair and Rush to produce LOLIWARE’s compostable straws at scale. Over the 12 months since the announcement, Sinclair and Rush has produced LOLIWARE straws using the same equipment traditionally used to create the plastic straws LOLIWARE seeks to replace - no new infrastructure needed. By achieving scale without upending traditional manufacturing methods, LOLIWARE is poised to use its innovative seaweed-based resins to replace all kinds of single-use plastics - and at a competitive price point.
Thanks to a Series of New Partnerships, Companies are Replacing Plastic with LOLIWARE’s Seaweed Straws
In the past year, LOLIWARE has secured a series of key corporate partnerships that will continue to expand the availability of LOLIWARE’s compostable, seaweed-based products. Among LOLIWARE’s partners is 1 Hotels, a hotel brand focused on providing guests with sustainable options on everything from the ingredients on their menus to the textiles used in their rooms. Now, 1Hotels has replaced their PHA-based straws with LOLIWARE’s compostable seaweed straws across its 16 properties in North America. LOLIWARE’s straws are proven home compostable and do not use plant material that requires freshwater, pesticides or herbicides, or large swaths of land, which is typically required to create PHA-based materials.
LOLIWARE is also partnering with Fordham University in New York to replace all straws on campus with LOLIWARE’s straws - a transition driven by the students of Fordham University themselves. Eager to work towards a plastic-free future, Fordham University students convinced the University’s Office of Sustainability to use LOLIWARE’s home-compostable, seaweed-based straws instead of traditional plastic. As part of this partnership, LOLIWARE recently participated in Fordham University’s “Day of Kelp” to showcase the new partnership.
In the past year, LOLIWARE has also secured partnerships with Fiddler’s Elbow and Canadian beverage company, Adept Food and Beverage to better serve customers sustainable, plastic-free solutions that are compatible with good business practices. Together, LOLIWARE’s partnerships are a testament to the growing, global interest in replacing plastics.
Though there is much work to be done in creating a plastic-free future for our planet and those living in it, we are grateful to have been able to work with a growing number of collaborators to make our work possible. As it’s been said by many, there is no planet B–we have a great opportunity and responsibility to do what we can, where we can, now and into the future.
