I Made A Phone Case With Flax Waste

I was in Hawaii a few years ago with my son Cole and as he was playing in the sand, I couldn't believe all the plastic pollution washing up onto the beach.

As an environmental consultant for many years, I was aware of the many troubles our planet was facing. But seeing this first hand, juxtaposed to the beautiful setting our family was enjoying really struck a chord with me.

When I got home from vacation I started to read more about the Pacific Garbage Patch and all the plastic and microplastic destroying our oceans and marine life.

I was fired up to help create less plastic waste in this world and find eco-friendly, sustainable and ethical alternatives. Not just for me but for my son and one day, his family and even generations beyond.

Growing up in the Canadian Prairies, I grew up seeing flax field fires. My dad told me that the farmers burned the flax straw after the oilseed harvest because it was really hard to break down.

Even as a child I always thought, there must be a use for the flax straw rather than just burning it every year. I remember my dad saying, "Well maybe you'll figure out a use for it when you grow up."

This is how the Pela Case came to be. I discovered a 100% biodegradable and compostable elastomer that when mixed with flax shive (the flax straw "waste") created a flexible and durable bioplastic that was great at absorbing shock and could be used with traditional injection molding machines.

I decided to trademark this proprietary concoction, Flaxstic. Not only was it functional but it was also beautiful with a nature inspired speckled effect. The feel was familiar, like silicone, but looked different enough to stand out and spark conversation about plastic alternatives.

So why an iPhone case?

I know it seems like a super narrow, super niche issue but if you think about it, people are changing devices around every 18 months and Apple actually sold their 1 BILLIONTH iPhone last year (in less than a decade!) —it's hard to even wrap your head around the amount of plastic tech accessories and packaging being made and disposed of each year.

This is where I wanted to start tackling the amount of phone cases that rely on virgin, non-renewable materials that end up sitting in landfills or our oceans for hundreds to thousands of years. I want people to know that they have options and to vote for the environment with their wallets.

I am grateful every day that since we launched Pela Case, people are buying our case from as far away as Australia to Sweden to Japan. Every time an order comes through, the whole Lang family does a little happy dance :)

We're so encouraged that so many people are hopping on board our mission to make sustainable plastic alternatives the new normal.

Now more than ever, we have to take the small steps necessary to make a big impact to help protect our planet.

It's the only home we have.

- Jeremy Lang, Founder of Pela Case

More info: pelacase.com