Summary

Pela phone cases are designed to eliminate the need for plastic in phone cases. The company uses Flaxstic™, which is a combination of flax straw ‘waste’, plant-based biopolymers, and recycled materials. The cases are designed to 100% compostable, either in an industrial facility and even at home. Flax fiber is lightweight, strong and has natural shock absorbing qualities. Oilseed flax is grown in Canada and the flax straw is often seen as waste and burned because it is too difficult to breakdown in the field. Thus, Pela has found a use for a waste material. (Source) The company also sells a liquid zero waste screen protector. The company also offers the Pela 360 program, where consumers can send their plastic cases to Pela and the company will either upcycle it or else make sure that it gets recycled properly. (Source) The case is designed to fully compost in under 6 months (ideally in industrial composting facilities). (Source)

Story

Founder Jeremy Lang studied Agriculture and Environmental Science at the University of Saskatchewan, where he learned about flax fiber and how it is mostly burned in Canada, where the plant is mostly grown for the flax seed. During a family vacation in Kauai in 2009 with his son, Lang was struck by the problem of plastics in our oceans, and he became interested in finding a solution to plastic pollution. Lang started looking for sustainable solutions for conventional plastic and found out about biopolymers, which were very brittle and mostly used for single-use items. He discovered that combining it with flax straw made the material stronger and more shock absorbent. He decided to use this material to create phone cases and Pela was launched in 2011. (Source)

Pic Credit: The Hustle