A female-led Danish biotech company just secured €8.1 million (about $9.46 million) to scale up a cellulose-based alternative to microplastics in cosmetics.
Cellugy's EcoFLEXY is a bio-based answer to the petroleum-based ingredients commonly used in skincare products to create texture and stability, Tech Funding News explained in a summary of the monetary award, which came from the European Union's LIFE Programme. The biodegradable alternative is grown through microbial fermentation, it added.
According to TFN, EcoFLEXY offers superior performance compared with solutions such as xanthan and plant-based cellulose gums.
"An alternative material that simply aims to be more sustainable is not enough," said Cellugy CEO Isabel Alvarez-Martos, per TFN. "Good intentions won't drive industry change. We need higher-quality alternatives like EcoFLEXY that make it easier — not harder — for brands to choose sustainability."
The company estimates that EcoFLEXY could help prevent more than 285 tons of microplastics annually.
Microplastics are a growing global crisis, now showing up in our air, water, food, and soil. They have also infiltrated our bodies, accumulating in our brains and other organs, reproductive tissue, and blood. While research on health impacts is still emerging, scientists have linked microplastics to major problems such as increased risks of blood clots, cancer, and dementia.
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Cellugy researchers aren't the only ones looking to find ways to reduce microplastics in our environment. For instance, one team of scientists found that egg whites can help remove these tiny plastic particles from ocean water.
In the meantime, it's important that we reduce our plastic use to help decrease the number of new microplastics entering the environment. Ways you can help include using a reusable shopping bag or water bottle and skipping out on cheap disposable razors and instead opting for metal.
"This grant provides the resources we need to transform our vision into reality," Alvarez-Martos added, per TFN. "Our end goal is sweeping petrochemicals from an industry worth billions, and we now have the backing and the partnerships to make it happen."
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