Today at the Sustainable Brands 2024 conference, material innovation startup Sway announced the launch of their compostable seaweed-based packaging with fashion brands Alex Crane, Faherty, Florence, and prAna, a milestone collaboration enabled through production partner EcoEnclose. 

Dubbed “The Sway Innovation Coalition,” this multi-brand partnership aims to disrupt the industry’s reliance on conventional plastic polybags with a new generation of packaging made with regenerative, renewable, and home compostable ingredients.

“The Sway Innovation Coalition signals a shift toward next-generation materials,” said Julia Marsh, CEO & Co-Founder of Sway. “These brands aren’t simply using a new packaging solution, they’re leading a movement towards products that come from nature and return to nature. Together, we’re demonstrating that solutions for plastic can meet the demands of global supply chains while delivering on performance, sustainability, and circularity.”

Each year, 180 billion plastic polybags are used by the fashion industry alone. Less than 3% of plastic bags are recycled, meaning the vast majority end up in landfill, or as pollution in our waterways, wildlife, and even human bodies. Many polybags can and should be eliminated, but they have become a staple in supply chains worldwide due to their ability to protect products from dust and damage during shipping, ensuring orders arrive to retailers and individuals in pristine condition.

This is where Sway’s innovative material made with seaweed comes in. Lightweight, durable, and versatile, Sway Polybags match the necessary performance qualities brands require for global packaging solutions. Unlike traditional polybags made from plastic, Sway Polybags are made with responsibly sourced seaweed, plants, and home compostable polymers, and are designed to break down entirely in both home and industrial compost environments.

Seaweed is an abundant, fast-growing, zero-input crop that can absorb excess nutrients, purify water, and support thriving habitat for marine life, all while securing climate-resilient employment in coastal regions most vulnerable to climate change. As such, each Sway Polybag is tethered to positive impact beyond just eliminating pollution – seaweed’s inclusion upholds benefits for climate, ocean health, and coastal communities.

Each of the participating fashion and outdoor gear brands in the Sway Innovation Coalition brings a unique sustainability perspective and purpose to this initiative:

• Alex Crane believes in pushing the boundaries of sustainable design and materials innovation, proven by their exploration of biobased textiles like cactus, alpaca wool, and banana plants. Seaweed-based packaging is a natural extension of the brand’s ethos of merging cutting-edge apparel materials with nature-based technology.
• Faherty prides itself on the high standards they’ve held for environmental and social responsibility since their inception. With this pilot of seaweed-based packaging, Faherty is taking yet another significant step toward achieving ambitious sustainability goals.
• Florence designs products in harmony with the places we love. Founded in partnership with World Surf Champion John John Florence, their commitment to performance on the waves and impact on the ocean is at the forefront of their designs. This is their second packaging pilot with Sway.
• prAna is a leader in not only sustainable lifestyle apparel, but also sustainable packaging. As the founder of the Responsible Packaging Movement, prAna has long since been an inspiration to Sway — and now, they are trialing Sway materials.

"Packaging always presented a huge problem in Alex Crane’s journey to rid plastic from our supply chain. It's always felt like our hands were tied and there were no real solutions or viable partners on the market,” says Aaron Smith, Chief Operating Officer at Alex Crane. “It wasn't until working with Sway that we saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and a real potential to change the packaging industry for good."

Sway Polybags will begin rolling out in brand supply chains from Q4 2024 - Q1 2025, packaging items like shirts and shorts. Bag designs are printed with Living Ink’s Algae Ink™ – a fossil-free alternative to traditional inks derived from petroleum – to emphasize the dynamic nature of seaweed, which is now being utilized as an ingredient in biobased packaging, inks, and textiles in fashion.

Brands can expect to see Sway Polybags being offered online in early 2025 through sustainable packaging supplier EcoEnclose, who played a critical role in bringing the Sway Innovation Coalition to life through production and distribution.

As Sway continues to scale up production of its seaweed-derived bags, they are also focused on new flexible film packaging formats, such as mailers and multilayer packaging.

To learn more about this initiative, visit swaythefuture.com/pilot.