Plastic, the origin of the word comes from “pliable and easily shaped.” More recently plastic has become a name for a category of materials called polymers. The word polymer means “of many parts,” and polymers are made of long chains of molecules. Polymers abound in nature. Cellulose, the material that makes up the cell walls of plants, is a very common natural polymer. The problem of plastics started back from when we learned how to make synthetic polymers over the last century and a half, primarily from using fossil oil and its derivatives. Synthetic polymers are made up of long chains of atoms, arranged in repeating units, often much longer than those found in nature. It is the length of these chains, and the patterns in which they are arrayed, that make polymers strong, lightweight, and flexible. In other words, it’s what makes them so plastic, but it is also what makes them so difficult to break down in nature. Synthetic plastic is a serious threat to our environment.

PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) is a bio-based plastic derived from renewable resources such as carbohydrate-rich feed stocks like sugarcane, corn, sugar beet and cassava. Naturally occurring and biodegradable, PLA offers a significant reduction in carbon footprint compared to traditional oil-based plastics.

Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants. It includes some of the fastest-growing plants in the world, making it a great candidate for sustainable products. Bamboo's strength-to-weight ratio is similar to timber, and its strength is generally similar to a strong softwood or hardwood timber. Combined with the amazing growth rate of bamboo and its natural anti-bacterial properties makes it the world’s most sustainable material to date.