
Sneakers Made Using Algae - pif
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-sustainable-sneakers-were-made-algae-180963483/?no-ist
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gene-h
Having to get rid of toxins is a rather interesting problem to have when
making plastic foam. Saxitoxin, a toxin produced by some algal blooms, is
amazingly dangerous with LD50s of 5.7 μg/kg[0]. It's even been estimated that
50 μg of it absorbed through open wounds would be enough to kill a person.

All in all, this is probably a small issue. Potential barriers to scaling are
that algal blooms form randomly, the need for solar drying, and whether the
material actually holds up to use as well as the current foams we use. I'd
even question that this is more sustainable than regular foam production until
they do a full life cycle analysis of the process.

[0][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxitoxin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxitoxin)

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thatcat
Blooms don't form randomly, they form where excess phosphate and nitrogen
accumulate. These are water soluble pollutants from agricultural and
industrial sites so they follow the flow of the water table. When these
nutrients meet open water algae populations that are already present increase
proportionally to the increase in nutrient levels.

I agree that the business model hinges on the efficiency at which they can
filter and remove water. The minimum concentration of algae per volume that
they can profitably extract determines the areas available to harvest from.
The article quotes one pair per 57 liters of water, which seems like the
location they used must contain a pretty dense concentration of algae (>5 g/L
of usable polymer).

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freshfey
Very interesting. I wonder how they feel during sports. Alternatively these
would be great as "sea shoes" that I often see with older people at the beach.

Relevant in the same area: [https://www.dezeen.com/2015/07/08/adidas-parley-
sports-shoe-...](https://www.dezeen.com/2015/07/08/adidas-parley-sports-shoe-
alexander-taylor-recycled-ocean-plastic/) (Adidas reveals first shoe made out
of recycled ocean waste)

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jimnotgym
This would be amazing if a fashion for recycled clothing drove a market for
reclaimed polymers from the sea.

Re: sports, I note the company's website
[https://www.vivobarefoot.com/](https://www.vivobarefoot.com/) lists a number
of sports shoes, suggesting they have some experience of this area.

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jimnotgym
I'm not a vegetarian, but sometimes I feel pretty un-evolved walking around
dressed in animal hides!

There are so many uses for polymer foam, I think this has amazing potential.
Maybe it doesn't work out in energy terms, but it is a great idea to try

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riffraff
honest question, why are you wearing hides? I think I am wearing mostly
vegetables (linen, cotton, hemp) and plastic/rubber, and I didn't even try to
avoid fur/leather/wool.

