It is an engineered biopolymer that
- is plant-based, made up of plant fibers and natural materials, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and fostering a circular economy;
- is biodegradable and compostable. When thrown away it degrades into air, water and organic matter, leaving no trace of any man-made materials;
- is biocompatible and hypoallergenic, meaning it causes less allergy when in contacting with skin;
- does not generate health or environmentally-toxic microplastics. There are no traditional plastics involved in its production;
- has a high degree of processability and attains new properties with the help of nano technologies;
- with > 90% lower carbon footprint, actively helps to reduce carbon emissions;
- is affordable. We have forged a new way to make biodegradable materials cost-effective, essentially allowing traditionally expensive sustainable products to be much more affordable.
Comparison between Ökomer™ and conventional plastics
OKOmer, which is a proprietary material developed by OKOSIX, is obtained from renewable and sustainable biological sources such as plants, wood pulps, polysaccharides and other natural minerals and materials, while conventional plastics come from hydrocarbons derived from crude oil, natural gas and coal – from fossil fuels.
Plastics are high molecular- weight organic polymers composed of various elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur and chlorine. Some of these are hazardous. OKOmers also consist of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen so that they possess the same valuable properties of plastics, with the added convenience that they do not contain any of the hazardous ingredients present in fossil-fuel-based plastics.
OKOmers are certified by SGS and Intertek to be fully and truly biodegradable and compostable (fully degraded in 6 months or less), including in landfill conditions. Plastics take hundreds of years to degrade, persist
Plastics have endless applications:, they are found everywhere. In comparison, OKOmers are more “niche” but they bring high value in disposable applications where little to no sustainable solutions exist, such as compostable plastic bags, surgical masks, gowns, cosmetic facial masks, diapers, and many other non-woven products.
What is sustainable plastic, exactly? OKOmers are made from sustainable and natural materials: their source is renewable and it is plant-based. Moreover, OKOmers are designed to biodegrade in any environment without generating any microplastics whatsoever, in six months or less..