Straw, in former times hats were made out of it as well as baskets or drinking-straws. It is still used for insulation in house building. Recently it has also been used for cleaning agents.
Waste that accumulates during food production is usually thrown away. This is also true for rice husks. German sportswear manufacturer Puma uses this waste material for their eco-friendly trainers `Re-Suede´.
Coffee grounds are not noxious, but they do produce a lot of waste. The founder of the Berlin start-up company Kafform combined this so-called waste with biopolymers and formed a cup from it.
The first plastic dowel revolutionized the possibilities of wall mounting in 1958. About 50 years after its invention, there is another innovation: the dowel turns green", and will now be made of a plastic, that consists of more than 50% of castor oil.
The times when people with celiac disease (gluten intolerance) had to renounce beer are over. Due to specific methods, the gluten protein can be separated out, after the brewing process.
The bike is built from lightweight, thin-walled and resilient tubes with a minimum use of real wood. Unlike raw materials such as aluminium, iron or carbon, which are normally used for the construction of bicycles, wood is a renewable resource.
Every year, millions of tonnes of milk, which cannot be used for consumption, are accrued. Fibres can be made from milk proteins. In comparison to the production of cotton, this process uses considerably less water.
Lego bricks are still made of plastic, which consumes a lot of oil. However, there has been a recent change in thinking. In addition to manufacturing products from bio plastics, by-products accrued from the wood industry are gaining in importance as a basic raw material for toy manufacturers.
When brewing coffee, less than ten percent of the coffee bean’s aroma is released. The rest ends up in the compost bin. These coffee grounds, however, are an ideal raw material for the production of sustainable textiles.
The Russian dandelion grows in Germany in areas that are unsuitable for farming. Unlike the rubber tree, which grows in subtropical regions, the increasing demand without vegetation clearance or conversion of farmland can be met.
Some bioactive ingredients, including enzymes, can help to smooth out wrinkles, remove impurities from the skin or prevent irritation of the skin. These beneficial ingredients can be produced with the help of new processes in fermentation.
Some consumer goods manufactures are increasingly trying to replace conventional plastics with biobased plastic. By doing this, the dependence on petroleum is reduced and carbon dioxide can be saved.
As nitrogen fixers, lupins are great fertilisers for soil. Their seeds are rich in protein and can be used as an alternative source of protein in the food industry.
A smartphone falls to the ground and gets scratched across the display. Who doesn’t know this problem? Now the first mobile phone with a biobased plastic touchscreen has come on the market.
Olive leaves are a waste product from olive harvests and are frequently burned as green waste. They contain valuable ingredients with which biodegradable and skin-compatible premium leather can be produced.