Sea of Possibilities
New Zealand’s past reveals its long tradition of using circular materials, like harakeke and wool. While these days, harakeke is only used on a small scale, we see a sea of possibilities for the versatile fibre, its gel, and leftovers. It would be great if more companies followed Ecostore’s example, so harvesting the leaves would become economically viable and the fibres could replace plastics. Merino wool, by contrast, has become well-established (and well-loved) in the clothing industry. While these are well-known New Zealand circular materials, all over the world Mother Nature offers renewable materials such as wood, cork, hemp, or bamboo. These circular materials can help us reduce the amount of plastic waste. If they are processed locally, that saves a lot of transport, too. The only question therefore is: which natural, circular materials will you use instead of plastic?