Ocean Made is a Seattle-based company producing biodegradable plant pots made from farmed kelp cellulose. By replacing traditional plastic and peat pots, the company helps gardeners avoid root binding and reduce plastic pollution while supporting the growth of kelp forests. Farmed seaweed acts as a powerful carbon sequesterer. By utilizing waste streams from kelp-based skincare production, Ocean Made creates a circular product that returns nutrients to the soil as it breaks down.
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Interesting use of a waste stream from skincare production. It is a small scale operation at 10k pots a year, but the logic of using farmed kelp to avoid depleting wild forests is sound.
The mention of a seven year permit process for seaweed farming in Washington is the real story here. Regulatory bottlenecks are killing blue carbon projects before they even start.
I am curious about the actual carbon math. Does the energy used in manufacturing and shipping these pots outweigh the sequestration of the kelp used? We need a full lifecycle analysis to see if this is a net win.
Glad to see a focus on removing glues and binders. Most biodegradable options are fake because they use polymers that just break into smaller pieces. A truly cellulose based pot is a better approach.
