Sulapac, a Finland-based company that creates packaging for beauty products using recycled and side-stream' content (byproducts and processed waste from production), was founded in 2016. It also produces straws, cutlery, and kitchenware. After "a lot of trial and error," it now has a portfolio of 13 products manufactured from a combination of plant-based biopolymers and natural resources such as wood chips. The material may be recycled or industrially composted, and if it ends up in nature, it will biodegrade at the same pace as a tree leaf or piece of wood.

Today, the team collaborates with beauty brands like Chanel, Schwan Cosmetics, and Shiseido to reduce society's reliance on oil-based plastics one tub of face cream at a time. Sulapac's ideas have earned it several awards. Perhaps most notably, the Green Alley Award's highest honor in 2017, barely a year after founding the company.

Addressing Microplastics in Water Bodies: 

However, plastic packaging is a massive issue that no one pioneering firm can solve on its own. In 2019, around 460 million tons of plastic were manufactured worldwide, with packaging being the single greatest source. Its production and disposal account for more than 3% of global emissions, with the quantity in our seas expected to increase to 29 million tonnes per year by 2040. When it gets into the water, it dissolves into dangerous microplastics that are "almost impossible to remove from nature."

Establishments by Sulapac: 

However, for Sulapac, the goal is to create goods that truly work. When their biodegradable straws were introduced in 2019, Suvi Haimi, co-founder and CEO, stated, "Sustainability is important, but you can't change the world just by focusing on that." You must also provide an excellent consumer experience." For the straws in issue, this meant passing what Haimi refers to as the "mojito test" : drinking many cocktails with the same straw without it becoming soggy. In fact, the manufacturer says that one straw may be used for up to 24 hours.And it also implies elegant packaging in the cosmetics business. 

For them, aesthetics hold paramount importance. Even if they've developed an exceptionally sustainable material, if it fails to meet their brand's stringent standards, it might not gain wide acceptance. They refuse to compromise, whether in terms of visual appeal or functionality. As sustainability emerges as a prominent future trend, pioneering entities initially took bold leaps, but now, numerous companies are actively joining this expanding field, collaborating and engaging with one another.