Swiss Watchmaker Creates Home-Compostable Packaging Made Out Of Seaweed
ID Genève, in collaboration with sustainable packaging start-up Notpla, has developed a revolutionary packaging solution for its latest collection, the Circular S.
Unlike the usual watch boxes made from plastic, velvet, or leather, this home-compostable innovation uses a plant often found gracing our shores: seaweed.
Intriguingly, seaweed is one of the planet’s best weapons against climate change, considering the giant kelp’s biomass increases by 20% a day despite not competing with crops for food and not requiring any fertilizer or freshwater to grow.
More importantly, as per the firm, farmed seaweed can capture carbon emissions 20 times faster than trees, making it the perfect material to grow and harness for a more eco-friendly take on regular packaging.
One key difference between this new box and the others on the market is that while it’s designed to perform, it wasn’t built to last—and that’s precisely the point.
The ID Genève box is meant to biodegrade in nature in just four to six weeks from when a customer receives it, without needing any industrial composts or special conditions. No backyard? The packaging can also be dissolved entirely in water and used to fertilize houseplants.
Additionally, using natural materials in its packaging fits the brand’s ethos of making its luxury watches while maintaining a circular production chain. It hopes other watchmakers will eventually adopt sustainable packaging.
“Our wish is to inspire the luxury industry to consider seaweed as an alternative to plastics for packaging and thus reduce the carbon footprint,” explained Nicolas Freudiger, co-founder of ID Genéve.
