Make Grow Lab turns local food waste such as roots, fruits, or vegetables into alternatives to plastic packaging, leather, and beyond.
The packaging material SCOBY is weaved through a biological process that turns bio-waste into different biomaterial. Its form of pure cellulose has features that does not need an addition of fossil-fuels or other non-biodegradable and toxic substances, and it is free from plastic. The SCOBY material is 40 times stronger than paper; it is self-adhesive, it is not solvent in water and it can be composted in your home. Some packaging is already implemented and used for e.g. shampoo bar and coffee packaging. Make Grow Lab also produces a leather alternative, 100% plastic-free and vegan, for the fashion and interior industry. It grows in a couple of weeks and requires fewer resources than animal leather. Make Grow Lab also sells starter farmer kits - and encourage everyone to become a bio-farmer - for private needs or industrial purposes (through collaboration). Aiming at turning packaging production into a benefit for the environment instead of a hazard, SCOBY is grown not only to produce packaging but also because of the valuable by-product, which works as a natural or probiotic drink.
Make Grow Lab was started by Roza Janusz and Josh Brito
Started as a research (thesis) project where Roza grew the material at her parent’s farm. In 2019 they won the Climate-KIC competition which meant new financing from the EU.
We aim for the bio revolution movement - to fuse science with design, to create a fully circular production of local, sustainable materials and spread it around the world. Our inspiration derives from the symbiotic processes of nature, specifically the life cycle of plants, where there is no waste and everything is recycled. Our goal is to mimic the symbiotic processes of nature, to not pollute the environment but enrich it instead. A more specific target is to produce 1 ton of SCOBY per square meter every two weeks. “Let's make the world a better place together! Join the BioRevolution.”
"Packaging production will no longer litter the environment but enrich it" Janusz told Dezeen.
Extract from article by Gunseli Yalcinkaya, Dezeen Magazine.
The Make Grow Lab initiative can be linked to at least two of the SDGs: no. 12 - Responsible consumption and production - as it works to reduce waste and food waste by reusing it, and no. 15 - Life on land - as it is made from natural resources, eatable, and compostable.
No interview - online information only: https://www.makegrowlab.com/, https://www.dezeen.com/2018/05/21/roza-janusz-creates-sustainable-edible-food-packaging-design/