Flip flops made using algae. What? Explained.

A Scientist has made an invention that would save the world from this plastic monstrosity we are all facing. Read this article to know more….

Flip Flops Made By Algenesis

What is the matter

Flip flops or sandals are the most preferred footwear since they are cheap and are very comfortable, but the problem with flip flops are that they are mostly made of rubber and plastic. The thing is, after using the flip flops people tend to dispose them after a few months or so. Thus contributing to big plastic islands or in landfills, flip flops are not considered bio degradable since the base and the grip are made of plastic and rubber which takes a 1000s of years to degrade. This is a huge problem since plastic can be very harmful for the environment.

The Solution

A man named Steve Mayfield came up with a mind blowing solution.

Steve Mayfield, has created a polymer from algae, which has the same features of a normal polymer like plastic and rubber. That means that the polymer he created is a 100% Bio-Degradable. He has created his own company called Algenesis.

How is it made?

Steve and his team starts growing algae in a slim algae pond . When the algae are fully grown they take the water out of the algae and make a very thick paste out of it.

Then they put the thick algae mixture into 2 flip flop molds, one for the main base and the other for the grip. They use the same machinery that all the shoemakers use. They heat up their molds and the alga mixture would fluff up like a cake and forms a solid base. Then they glue the grip to the base and attaches the cotton strip. Voila! The Algae Flip Flop is ready, not yet.

See, the Algae flip flops are cheap, easy to make and are bio degradable. But, Algenesis is not able to make algae oils economically viable. The flip flops that Algenesis has created has algae and plant oils (not algae oils).

All the negatives aside the effect that these algae sandals would have on earth is immeasurable. Recently scientists discovered that a small island named Aldabra, which is filled with plastic waste, the thing is that, almost a quarter of the waste found, were flip flops.

So, I think that algae footwears are the future of the entire industry, just like electric cars. In case you’re wondering, it takes 3-6 months for algae sandals to degrade and when in water it takes about a year which is way way better than plastic. That’s it for now,

Thanks for reading, Stay Home Stay Safe👋🏻

-Rajat KR