We all know by now that the fashion at large has, and remains, a continuous threat to our ecosystem. Carbon emissions, non-biodegradable polyesters, factory wastewater runoffs, etc., are just a few of the many issues plaguing the industry.

Our neglect of nature is rapidly changing our environment for the worse. Many lake waters across the U.S. are suffering from high levels of toxic algae, both to humans and wildlife.

This is where Bloom comes in, combating algae and creating sustainable footwear and shoe foams from bioplastic material derived from algae. Bloom is working to solve the algae crisis and restore the environment.

Please read more to learn about Bloom and their work.

Where are you based?
Bloom is a USA brand located at the ALGIX Headquarters in Meridian Mississippi.

What is the story behind Bloom?
Bloom is a sustainable bioplastic material created by the biotech company ALGIX. ALGIX was founded in 2010 and spun out of the University of Georgia’s Bioengineering and Biorefining program, with the mission to accelerate the transition to a circular economy through the commercialization of algae-based technologies for cleaning air and water, and creating renewable biomaterials for use in consumer products. ALGIX has built a supply chain from pollution to products where green water is cleaned and the plant biomass is transformed into a bioplastic material that displaces conventional plastics in consumer products.

Bloom is truly innovative and necessary for the future of footwear and our environment — but why algae? What was the stimulus?
Algae has the fastest growth rate of any plant on Earth and we are experiencing the negative consequences of harmful algae blooms when excessive amounts of air and water pollution enter the environment. These harmful algae blooms are wreaking havoc on eco-systems, harming wildlife, property values, tourism and fishing industries. The purpose of Bloom is to transform this negative problem into a sustainable solution where algae can be harvested from eco-systems that are out of balance, as well as be cultivated in ways that intercept pollution before it enters the environment.

Do you use a particular type of algae? If so, what is special about this algae?
Bloom can utilize a wide range of algae types, and our primary focus is to use algae that was grown on pollution from the environment to help mitigate the damaging impacts of excessive air and water pollution. Algae grown in these high nutrient conditions (CO2, ammonia, and phosphorus) tend to produce high amounts of protein in the biomass. The Bloom technological innovation is the transformation of the algae protein into a protein-based polymer. By co-processing the protein-rich algae with a thermoplastic polymer, the result is a moldable resin pellet that can be converted into a wide range of consumer products using traditional plastic processing techniques.

How does harvesting the algae biomass clean and restore the environment?
Algae utilizes sunlight to absorb carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from water to produce a renewable plant biomass. Algae has historically provided nutrient balancing and oxygen creation for the planet’s eco-systems, helping cycle the critical nutrients to create the basis of the food chain. However, excessive nutrients lead to an overabundance of algae blooms, which can choke out the eco-systems and lead to a loss in diversity, fish kills and water toxins. By taking an engineered approach to removing excessive algae from algae blooms, and implementing controlled algae blooms at the source of pollution, we can leverage the enormous photosynthetic capacity of algae to mitigate the damaging effects of excessive CO2 and water pollution on our planet.

How do Bloom Algae Foams compare to traditional shoe foams - both in performance and environmental impact?
Bloom foam can be formulated to meet or exceed the performance and durability of traditional foams used in footwear, sports and accessory applications, while providing a quantifiable benefit of cleaning water and air pollution. Through 3rd party audited Life Cycle Analysis of the Bloom pollution to product process, Bloom provides certified Eco-Fact metrics that brands can communicate to their customers, and stakeholders that measure their positive environmental benefits of their products.

What changes would you like to see from footwear companies in order to improve their sustainability efforts?
It is an exciting time in the fashion industry where Sustainability and Circular thinking is becoming the new norm. We see brands launching advanced marketing campaigns and lofty recycled and upcycled content goals for their products. However, the challenge and opportunity is that these product lines and materials still represent a small percentage of most brands’ portfolios. We hope that over the coming few years there will be a major shift in the adoption rate of sustainable materials where a significant percentage of the brands’ portfolios can use recycled and upcycled materials, which will help increase the scale and improve the economics of these new eco-materials. The challenge that remains is the end-of-life for multi-material products like footwear, where there is still a major gap in the post consumer end of life options. Our Bloom technology has helped improve the cradle, or beginning of life options or the raw materials used to make shoes, by transforming pollution into products, but we would like to see more commercial deployment of advanced recycling technologies and circular product design being integrated into the fundamental business model as we transition from a linear economy into a circular economy.

Are you interested in expanding beyond footwear with your algae blooms?
Yes, we started this journey looking at using algae for biodegradable packaging and commodity level plastics like Polyethylene and Polypropylene. However, as with any start-up company, making smart financial decisions and focusing on higher value and more niche markets is necessary to help scale the technology and achieve the market adoption. As time progresses, our scale will increase, the algae supply chain will mature, and brands will become more comfortable with using eco-materials as a standard part of their supply chain, and eventually we will see algae becoming incorporated into more and more products, markets and applications, such as automotive, furniture, packaging, and agriculture.

With the obvious increase effects of climate change impacting our planet, what steps would you like to see implemented to help save our world?
The enormous release of carbon and water pollution from industrial, municipal and agricultural sources has put extreme pressure on the climate and on the inhabitants of the planet. Algae represents the canary in the coal mine, where the frequency and intensity of algae blooms are an indicator of our eco-system out of balance. Our vision is to utilize this prehistoric class of organisms with the highest photosynthetic efficiency to their maximum potential, transforming solar energy into raw materials, clean water, biofuels, fibers, feeds, fuels and foods.

What is your motto in life?
I think Socrates said it best: “The secret of Change is to focus all of your Energy, not on fighting the Old, but on Building the New!"

Please list any websites or social media you would like Jejune to promote:
www.bloomfoam.com
Instagram: Bloomfoam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-w-hunt-80622211/

Bloom Takes On The Algae Crisis