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If you were responsible enough to put sunscreen on this morning, I'm afraid to say you've probably got fossil fuels on your face — tons of cosmetic products have got petrochemical ingredients in to create everything from scent to texture. But fear not: startups are on the case. Leading beauty brands are in search of alternatives — but Isabel Álvarez-Martos, cofounder of Cellugy — which has just raised a €4.9m seed round — says that there's currently nothing on offer that meets the requirements. That's where Cellugy's first product comes in. EcoFLEXY is a cellulose ingredient made using micoorganisms that naturally create cellulose through converting sugar, rather than extracting it from plants and chemically modifying it. More on the tech + plans for the fresh funding here: https://lnkd.in/e4CVYSJp

Startup of the Day: Sway 🔍 Can seaweed become our shield against plastic? Over 8 million tons of plastic enter our oceans yearly. 🌍 Imagine a world where packaging materials strengthen rather than strain our planet's ecosystems. 🌿 Sound impossible? 🤔 Enter Sway, a pioneering startup steering this vision into reality with seaweed-based packaging. 🚀 Utilizing the untapped potential of seaweed, the company crafts compostable alternatives to traditional plastics, championing a circular economy while reducing environmental footprints. 🌊 Their technology is based on the unique properties of seaweed to create a biodegradable biopolymer resin that is also compatible with existing packaging machinery, offering a scalable solution.💡 With a recent $5 million seed funding, Sway is set to scale their impact, offering a viable, eco-friendly packaging solution that promises to revolutionize industries and protect our oceans. 💰 The World Bank projects seaweed farming to explode into a $12 billion market by 2030. 📈 Under the leadership of CEO Julia Marsh, Sway is not just creating packaging; they're shaping a sustainable future, one seaweed strand at a time. 🌱 What's your view? Could seaweed be the key to unlocking eco-friendly packaging solutions? 🌳 #startup #sustainability #packaginginnovation #seaweed #circulareconomy #startupfunding #ecofriendly #technology #innovation

🌱 Did you know that algae can be used to create sustainable alternatives for pharmaceuticals, food, pigments, animal feed, skincare, bio-plastics, apparel, and fertilisers? 💡👀   For example, Australian surf and street-wear brand Piping Hot has partnered with UTS to develop textiles made from seaweed, which sequester carbon from the ocean and reduce the environmental impact of synthetic fibers. 🌊💚   The potential of algae is immense, and we're just scratching the surface! Are you running or are thinking of starting an algae startup? Do you know anyone working on an algae project? Our Green Light Accelerator program is OPEN for applications, more details here - https://lnkd.in/g2wsqveS   #Sustainability #AlgaeInnovation #GreenStartups #EcoFriendly #FutureOfFashion #CircularEconomy #ClimateAction #Innovation #SustainableLiving

A Cambridge startup that develops sustainable, plant-based pigments has raised $3.2 million in early stage funding and plans to launch a Series A round in the coming months to upscale production capacity and accelerate commercialisation. https://lnkd.in/eCz6n64x Sparxell is commercialising products designed to eliminate synthetic chemicals from colourants in multibillion dollar markets such as cosmetics, fashion, paint and packaging. The Circular Innovation Fund, a global venture capital fund jointly managed by Demeter and Cycle Capital with L'Oréal as an anchor investor, participated in the seed funding round alongside others including SpaceX-backer Future Communities Capital, PDS Ventures, Katapult, Joyance Partners and SNØCAP VC. Sparxell was founded in 2022 by Cambridge scientists, led by CEO Dr Benjamin Droguet and Professor Silvia Vignolini, who discovered ways to replicate vibrant colours in nature using fully plant-based cellulose, a renewable, biodegradable resource that can be extracted from waste streams. Sparxell’s pigments use the same material that many plants and animals use to produce vivid, durable, and fade-resistant colourants. The products are toxin-free and fully biodegradable with a colour intensity that lasts longer than traditional colourants and pigments on the market. The company has already engaged in product innovation partnerships with blue-chip companies across different industries including leading car manufacturers, world-leading high-end fashion brands, and cosmetic goods manufacturers. Dr Droguet said: “Traditional chemical colourants are causing major environmental harm through every stage of their lifecycle, from manufacture to degradation. Over 10,000 fossil-based chemicals are used in current colouration processes. “The textile industry is a well-known emitter of dyes and microplastics, with over 1.5m tonnes entering the environment every year, while paint has recently been recognised as the largest source of microplastics in the ocean. “Our plant-based materials can be grown and sourced locally in a complete rethink of how colours are currently being manufactured while reducing transport emissions.” The colourants market is worth an estimated $38 billion and is expected to grow to over $100 billion by 2030. Sparxell is targeting specific markets including beauty (colour cosmetics, personal care, creams, sunscreens, glitter make-up), fashion (textile colouring, embellishments, sequins), packaging (bulk colouring, films, foils), and paint (automotive, building).

Plastic is everywhere, and getting rid of it is a huge challenge. What could be a viable solution? A) A team of super-powered recycling robots B) A magic potion that dissolves plastic instantly C) Nature's own plastic-eating microbes A hot startup with $10.5 million in funding, uses a game-changing microbe that devours plastic! These tiny titans go way beyond plastic! Imagine microbes engineered to tackle specific pollutants, cleaning up industrial waste or transforming agricultural leftovers into valuable resources. The possibilities are teeming with potential for a more sustainable future! How could microbes be harnessed to solve problems in YOUR industry? #Cleantech #Sustainability #MicrobialRevolution #Biotech #Innovation #CircularEconomy #WasteManagement #AgTech #EnvironmentalScience #FutureofWork #Quiz #Startup #Funding #VC #VentureCapital #StartupIdeas #Entrepreneur #Inspiration #Ideas

Green Alley Award Finalists:   The Green Alley Award, Europe’s first and longest-running award for startups and entrepreneurs pioneering the circular economy, has announced its finalists for 2024. They are, in particular order:   AraBat (Italy) Arabat presents an advanced and sustainable technology to help battery users and manufacturers with the recycling of spent batteries and recovery of raw materials with biomass-based processes that use fruit and vegetable by-products and waste. https://arabat.it/it/   Carbon Cell (UK) A carbon-negative, biodegradable rigid foam, developed from waste with thermal and acoustic insulation, strength, and fire resistance to help companies use polystyrene packaging to protect their product from impact or temperature changes during transit. https://www.carboncell.co/   Ecopolplast (Poland) Innovative technology and manufactures Ecoplastomer®, a brand-new product category – circular TPEs made with 100% recycled content: to help reinvent the use of recycled materials in manufacturing and reduce CO2 emissions, limiting environmental and CO2 impact with mechanically blended, without chemical additives or stabilizers. https://ecoplastomer.eu/   Novapedra (Spain) The startup is developing a sustainable material made from organic waste as an alternative to ceramics, without the use of natural gas for its manufacture. https://novapedra.com/   PulpaTronics (UK) Sustainable RFID tags, simplify material sourcing and transport and streamline manufacturing, cutting CO2 emissions by 70% and halving costs to help retailers look for affordable inventory management solutions while achieving sustainability goals and customers focusing on more conscious shopping the waste of natural resources. https://lnkd.in/e-Sddapm   Rheiazymes (Switzerland) Molecular Bio-Recycling to help the fashion industry solve the plastics recycling problem for sportswear, swimwear and outdoor textiles with biological scissors separating materials at the molecular level back into their main raw https://lnkd.in/ef72asjb   About Green Alley Award The Green Alley Award is Europe´s only startup prize specifically for the circular economy. The mission is to turn the linear into a circular economy and transform the waste and recycling industry as we know it today.   For more information, please visit https://lnkd.in/g85Esdq #startups #finalists #circulareconomy #entrepreneurs

Microplastics are a global concern, but erthos , a woman-founded startup, is leading the charge for a plastic-free future. 🌍 👉 Their innovative plant-based resin offers a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic, without compromising on the products we rely on daily. 👉 Erthos has already partnered with industry giant AB InBev and collaborated with Atlas Copco and Vidon Plastics to launch sustainable auto-packaging materials for net-zero production facilities. Read more about this innovative startup that is making significant strides toward a more environmentally friendly future. https://lnkd.in/ekjdBX7S #Sustainability #Innovation

🌵What do pineapple leaves, beer, coffee grounds and cactus all have in common? Over 70% of a fashion brand’s environmental impact comes from the raw materials used in their designs. And the leather goods market size is predicted to hit $738B by 2030. Yet a report by Collective Fashion Justice found environmental impact included major emissions, water use and land inefficiency attributed to cattle ranching and the polluting of waterways across slaughterhouses and tanneries. So startups are developing bio-based materials or upcycling resources to create new, sustainable alternatives. Take leather for example: 🍍 Ananas Anam Ltd 🍻 Arda Biomaterials 🍄 Bolt Threads 🌵 DESSERTO ☕️ TômTex Co. 🧬 UNCAGED Innovations Who else is working in the space? Tag them below 👇 I've been speaking to Stephanie Downs of UNCAGED to hear how and why they're scaling their biobased alternative. Who else should I speak to?

SAVEGGY, a Lund-based startup founded by Arash Fayyazi and Vahid Sohrabpour🍀 , has secured €1.76 million in funding to advance its innovative plant-based vegetable packaging solution. Saveggy's unique packaging technology, which utilizes a combination of canola and oats, aims to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables with edible peels, such as cucumbers, without relying on conventional plastics. The need for sustainable packaging solutions is more pressing than ever, as the global waste from traditional plastic packaging continues to escalate environmental concerns. Saveggy's technology not only addresses the environmental impact of packaging but also tackles food wastage by potentially increasing the longevity of fresh produce. This investment will enable Saveggy to scale its operations and reach a broader market, including more stringent categories of fruits and vegetables, thus amplifying its impact on the food supply chain. The funding round was led by notable impact investors including Unconventional Ventures, together with LRF Ventures, Almi Invest and industry angels.

🚀 Thank you StartUs Insights for mentioning us as one of the 10 Top Green Packaging startups to watch in 2023. 🚀 As the world becomes more environmentally conscious, it's crucial for businesses to step up and make eco-friendly choices. Green packaging isn't just a trend; it's a necessity in building a sustainable future. 🌍 Environmental Impact: By opting for a recyclable plastic packaging design, we reduce the strain on landfills and minimize pollution. Every small change counts! 💚 Positive Brand Image: Embracing green packaging shows your customers that you care about the planet and their well-being. It creates a lasting positive impression. 📈 Business Benefits: Sustainable packaging not only appeals to conscious consumers but can also lead to cost savings and increased brand loyalty. A win-win for your company's growth. Join our movement towards a greener tomorrow! Let's make a difference, one package at a time. 🌿 #GreenPackaging #Sustainability #EcoFriendly #TogetherForChange