#1 Bamboo
Pros: Low environmental impact, easy to grow, incredibly strong structure, light-weight, absorbs more carbon dioxide than your average tree, and is biodegradable.
Uses: Kitchen & personal utensils, Packaging, Furniture, Clothing, and Construction.
Note for bamboo fabrics: It’s important to make sure that the bamboo fabrics you buy are being produced organically. Approximately 90% of all “bamboo fabrics” are made using an extraction process using toxic chemicals and harmful emissions.
#2 Seaweed
Pros: available for food and non-food applications, fast-growing, doesn’t need fertiliser, doesn’t need farming, doesn’t need fresh water, storing CO2.
Uses: Food, Packaging, Fuel, Beauty.
#3 Hemp
Pros: No need for harsh chemical herbicides (hemp naturally reduces pests), more sustainable than growing cotton, balances the nature (Phytoremediation).
Uses: Fabric, Multipurpose extracted oil, Paper, Architecture.
“Wait? Hemp? Seriously, marijuana concrete? Am I going to live on a marijuana farm?”
Nope! Technically Hemp is different from Marijuana. Here is why.
#4 Coconut Shell & Husks
Pros: The shape of coconut shell is best for naturally made containers. No need to add glue to make high-quality boards from coconut husk.
Uses: Utensils, Containers, Pots, Fuel.
#5 Pineapple-Leaves Fiber
Pros: Best alternative plant-based material to animal leather. Good strength and flexibility. Low impact by using waste pineapple leaves.
Use: Leather product alternatives.
#6 Beeswax
Pros: Edible, non-toxic, clean raw material. Natural resin (propolis) and never turns bad. Smells good while burning — naturally aromatic from the honey. Has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
Uses: Natural wax, Beauty products, Candles, Wood Sealant.
#7 Fungus
Pros: Grows rapidly, does not require lots of space; an eco-friendly replacement for polystyrene. Low impact to environment and biodegradable.
Uses: Food, Packaging, Furniture, Building materials.
#8 Coffee Grounds
Pros: Natural abrasive for household cleaning or body scrub. Absorbs odors and provides a pleasing smell. 100% biodegradable, zero cost material, waste recycling.
Uses: Gardening fertilizer, House deodorant, Exfoliant, Fuel, Ink, Products like containers, coasters, etc. (basically the grounds powder can be compressed into any shape).
#9 Wheat Straws
Pros: Biodegradable, compostable. Low cost and low impact, wheat straw is basically agricultural waste.
Uses: Containers, Tissues and paper towels, Packaging.
#10 Cow Poo. Yes, Cow Poo! (Cow Dung)
Pros: Perfect fertilizer for soil and plants. Super biodegradable.
Uses: Fertilizers, Plant Pots, Traditional Fuel, Building materials.
And what if you mix and match all these things? You get this!
🌱 Eva Chou — Conscious Community Ambassador in NatureHub
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