As such it is a 100% natural alternative to plastic bottles, cups, and sachets. The Ooho material degrades in a natural environment in 6 weeks on average and is also edible.  You can put almost any liquid in an Ooho, but the important thing is that it is an ‘on-the-go’ situation that best suits the materials’ natural properties. We’re trailing it as a replacement for small water bottles out and about, for fresh juices that are made daily, for sauces and condiments used by fast-food restaurants and included in fresh salads, and for hydration in sporting events like marathons. Skipping Rocks Lab  (currently named Notpla) is pioneering the use of natural materials such as alginate, an extract from brown seaweed, to create packaging solutions with low environmental impact. Ooho and other packaging solutions are made from Notpla, a material made from seaweed and plants that disappear, naturally.

Their goal is to create waste-free alternatives to plastic bottles /cups/plates/ you name it. The impact will be to STOP 1 BILLION plastic bottles reaching the ocean every year & to stop 300 million kg of CO2 from ever being emitted. Skipping Rocks Lab is part of the Climate KIC start-up acceleration program that was founded by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) and the scientific team is based in Imperial College. The start-up is pioneering the use of natural materials extracted from plants and seaweed to replace plastic packaging was with their first product, the Ooho!  Ooho is a 100% naturally biodegradable membrane that can be used for a range of “on-the-go” liquids, including water, condiments, and juices.

Ooho is a 100% naturally biodegradable membrane that can be used for a range of “on-the-go” liquids. Notpla (ex Skipping Rocks Labs) have also developed a machine for on-site manufacture of the Ooho to create an on-demand packaging. They want to replace that on-the-go consumption experience where we buy a plastic water bottle, drink three quarters and then discard.

Why? Plastic bottles are one of the most common items of litter found in the sea. They take 700 years to decompose, so changing the way we package our drinks is imperative to the protection of the environment. Ooho makes it ‘easy to be good’ and allows consumers who care about the environment to make the positive choices they want to make. Notpla is developing a machine to produce Oohos automatically. It will be able to produce 100 Oohos in 5 to 10 minutes and will be operated locally by retailers to make Oohos fresh every day in-store, or by our events team in the Skipping Rocks Lab facility.

Notpla (ex Skipping Rocks Lab) is part of the Climate KIC start-up acceleration program was founded by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) and the scientific team is based in Imperial College.  Skipping Rocks Lab was awarded the 2014 Lexus Design Award, the 2014 World Technology Award (environment) held in association with Fortune and TIME, 2015 SEA Award and 2016 UK Energy Globe Award. Currently, the Skipping Rocks Lab cooperates with Selfridges, Just Eat and Virgin Sport to trial this revolutionary product. Currently named NOTPLA you may order or discuss cooperation to apply for the lab’s work on a larger scale at the website: https://www.notpla.com/
https://ecodna.art/water-to-eat-in-flexible-packaging/