Sustainable Materials: Seaweed-Infused Paper by PlantSea

A fun new seaweed-based issue highlighting sustainable options for printing and packaging.

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while, and there are many new subscribers. Welcome! It’s been quite while since I’ve been able to write here, however, I’ll save that for a follow-up post. In this issue, I merely want to introduce you to a really cool brand I’ve recently come into contact with! They make paper that can be used for packaging and print products that is a mix of FSC paper and seaweed!

Earlier this year, a rep at PlantSea reached out to me to see if I was interested in learning about seaweed-infused paper. The answer was, naturally yes. This post isn’t sponsored, although they did send me the paper samples :)

A bit of background: PlantSea is a small but innovative biomaterials company based in the EU that is focusing on creating a range of packaging and materials that reduce the plastic and virgin paper use by using seaweed.

From PlantSea’s website.

We’ve seen innovation via seaweed and algae before with AlgaeInk and Sway, but we need everyone on board PlantSea is expanding the option spaces!

These are the samples that PlantSea was kind enough to send me! They look so cool! Photo taken with my DSLR 50mm lens.

01. Seaweed-Infused Paper: MÔR and MÔR Artisan

Their main line is a series of papers with a range of seaweed infusion (usually ranging from 10-20% depending on the line and batch of paper). One of the things that automatically caught my attention was the uniqueness of the paper. While paper that is so interesting visually may not be for everyone, I feel that it’s very striking and it’s the kind of thing I like keeping in my back pocket to impress clients who want to have a strongly unique branded impression.

I just can’t get enough of the speckling. I want to turn at least one of these samples into endpapers on a sketchbook I’ll bind myself. (And keep the others for clients haha!)

Here’s a useful chart with some of the quick features of each paper:

One of the awesome things about this paper is that it’s actually an upcycled product from their other material creation: the waste seaweed from their films is what goes into this seaweed-infused paper. This contributes to reduced demand on virgin pulp. The paper is fully compostable and recyclable just like regular paper. For UK readers, the paper is OPRL certified recyclable (and in fact, they’re the first seaweed paper to ever be OPRL certified ever!)! In fact, all of their materials are produced and manufactured in the UK/EU which is awesome for you all. MÔR is intended for luxury experiential packaging and business stationery.

Their signature paper, MÔR is commercial grade and comes in multiple weights: 250gsm, 140gsm and 80gsm, plus duplex/triplex in 280gsm, 390gsm, 500gsm, 530gsm, 640gsm, 750gsm. It is infused with 10% seaweed and mixed with FSA virgin pulp. Their Artisan paper comes in 3 weights: 280, 140, and 90gsm. This is my personal favourite of the line for its flecking.

From PlantSea’s website about their paper. As you can see in the left example, it’s suitable for letterpress/embossing.

Some examples of the product in use from PlantSea’s website:

From PlantSea’s website: their thicker-weight paper is suitable for bags and boxes!

I know some of you are probably wonder, well why can’t we just make paper (or *insert other material here*) 100% out of seaweed and forego the trees entirely? That would be great! And hopefully one day that will be something that’s both viable as a product and also cost-effective. But our motto around here has always been that we need to be trying to invest towards the materials that will be standard in a world that has a better future before us. Even if that looks like a mix of materials in 2025. Especially when this paper doesn’t contain any plastics, and is appropriate for a wide range of solutions, I think that the more diverse options we have the better! I hope that some of you can think of a client that might be interested in this type of paper :)

One of our favourite ways to market alternative papers to clients is to talk to them about the opportunity it creates for conversations with other vendors and clients/customers. Saying that your business cards, or other marketing materials or packaging are made out of a seaweed blend paper is a unique talking point that can launch into further discussions of product, value, or services and possibly create a stronger values-alignment with customers.

While we’re here, I figured I’d highlight a couple of the other neat things PlantSea is doing!

02. PlantSea Pods

Photo Credit: PlantSea

Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) films have been all the rage in ‘sustainable’ packaging for a while. You’ll commonly find it in the plastic wrapping around dishwasher tabs/pods. It’s like magic: it dissolves in water! If you can’t see it, it’s not there right? Alas, not true, and PlantSea is aiming to fix this.

PVA requires strict conditions to fully biodegrade and is only partially broken down by wastewater treatment plants – in the US 75% of the film from detergent pods remains untreated, accounting for over 8,000 tons per year entering the environment. (Source: PlantSea)

PlantSea’s alternative is 100% plastic-free and does what the other ones are marketed to do: actually and naturally dissolvable and biodegradable in water with no harmless residue! These films are also home compostable, vegan, and 100% plant-based.

To learn more about all of these bio-materials and more, check out PlantSea’s website!

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Thank you for reading everyone! Interested in alternative materials? Check out some of our backissues or consider subscribing for more content!