Ecological shoes made of algae are already being made. Will they replace plastic flip-flops?
These scientists make foam from algae. This could be a game-changer for pollution, which has a much bigger impact on the environment than most people think. It's flip flops. It is the most popular footwear in the world and is collected on beaches and in oceans. Most of them are made of foam polystyrene, the natural decomposition of which takes dozens or hundreds of years.
But scientists growing green, slippery algae may be changing that. Can this new type of foam really replace regular flip-flops? We visited their lab to find out.
Steve Mayfield heads the lab where the flip-flops are made. He has been researching algae for 35 years and still talks about it with enthusiasm.
“These are the most efficient photosynthetic organisms on the planet,” says Steve Mayfield, founder and president of Algenesis Materials.
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Scientists turn algae into flip-flops
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What does the production of ecological shoes look like?
They are easy to grow and harvest in artificial ponds, which take up less space than plant crops. The process of turning algae into flip-flops is surprisingly simple. The shoe consists of an insole made of flexible foam, an outsole made of more rigid foam and a cotton strap. To make the foam, scientists use an industrial machine to mix compounds made from algae oil.
This is the same machine you would see if you walked into a shoe manufacturer's factory. We want to make sure that the research and work we do here is relevant to the real and commercial world
says Steve.
The machine pours the mixture into molds. The assembly then uses heat and the foam expands to the shape of the shoe. After 10 minutes, the foam hardens and workers peel off the fragments and assemble the finished product.
The sandal is fully biodegradable. It takes three to six months to decompose in a composter. If it ends up in the ocean, it will take about a year to decompose. This is much faster than with flaps made of plastic. Replacing traditional plastic flip-flops with algae-based flip-flops would also reduce the need for fossil fuels.
Crude oil itself is biodegradable. Once they pass through a refinery, they become non-biodegradable, and then a chemical company processes them into a non-biodegradable plastic. Instead of extracting algae oil from the ground, we grow it in ponds
– explains Steve.
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Scientists create flip-flops from green algae
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For years, scientists around the world have been trying to turn algae into cheap, low-emission biofuel
Over the past 15 years, private investors and the U.S. government have poured billions of dollars into this research. Despite efforts, however, no one has yet figured out how to make algae biofuel cheaper than fossil fuels.
— We will always be five years away from achieving the economic profitability of producing biofuels from algae. “Maybe we should tackle one of the world's other problems that are a little easier to solve economically,” he says.
The company focused on biopolymers, i.e. plant alternatives to plastics. They are sold at a higher price than fuel.
Firstly, they are about 10 times more expensive than fuels, so they are economically more profitable. Secondly, plastic and plastic pollution in the oceans is a huge problem that we need to address
explains Steve.
Recent research shows that plastic pollution occurs everywhere, even in the deepest parts of the ocean. If current trends continue, the amount of plastic entering the environment each year will almost triple over the next two decades.
The problem becomes apparent in places surrounded by water, such as the Aldabra Atoll off the eastern coast of Africa. In 2020, scientists collected 25 tons of garbage there. They found that almost a quarter of them were flip-flops.
If you look at what footwear most people in the world wear, it turns out to be sandals or flip-flops
However, getting these more eco-friendly flip-flops into stores remains a challenge. Mayfield founded Algenesis Materials to find a solution to this problem.
— Even the best discovery in the world, if left in the laboratory, will have no impact on the world. It is products that influence the world. Our startup company's plan was to create great, eco-friendly shoes to force all other companies to change direction and switch to eco-friendly shoes, says Steve.
These flip-flops can save the oceans, and they are made from… algae in a laboratory
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The start-up faces another big challenge
It is unable to purchase enough algae to maintain its supply chain. For now, flip-flops are made mainly from plants, not algae.
Steve believes that over time, supply will catch up as more algae farmers enter the market.
In the future, it will be possible to buy shoes made entirely from algae. But if we don't produce the first million pairs of shoes, people won't build the algae ponds that will help us produce the next hundred million pairs of shoes.
– says.
But others, such as researcher John Benemann, point out that algae cultivation will have to increase significantly to cope with the mass production of things like shoes.
It would take 100 times more algae to make sense
– says John Benemann CEO at MicroBio Engineering Inc.
For this reason, it may be more practical and cost-effective to make biodegradable shoes from commonly available crops such as soy.
“The argument that algae have a specific and specific competitive advantage requires refinement,” says John.
But Steve says algae is better because it requires less land and water to grow than plants. For now, Algenesis Materials works with oils from non-edible plants.
— We decided not to use soybean and rapeseed oils because they are food oils. So we don't want to compete with cooking oils, he adds.
Growing more algae and using it to make different things is a step in the right direction.
– Better is the enemy of good, right? This means that if you are always looking for the perfect solution, you will never do anything but sit idly by, says Steve.
Steve says consumers can do more than just wait for more environmentally friendly options.
— Too many people sit back and say, “Well, I'd love to use biodegradable plastics, but they're not available.” Well, they're not available because you don't require companies to produce them. “I would like to challenge consumers not to underestimate their power and demand change in the world,” he sighs.
