Compound transforms seaweed into regenerative biomaterial sheets for product design and interior applications, offering a circular alternative to toxic, petroleum-based materials. Their material system spans vibrant, translucent, and textured sheets—like Brickn, Cocoa, and Starry Night—that can shape lighting, packaging, and everyday objects. By bridging living ecologies with industrial design, Compound aims to make low-impact materials practical and accessible for manufacturers and designers.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Conventional materials used in product design and manufacturing—such as plastics and synthetic leathers—are derived from petroleum and often contain toxic chemicals that harm ecosystems and human health. These materials are difficult to recycle or biodegrade, contributing to long-term environmental pollution and a linear "take-make-dispose" economy.
Solution
Compound builds material systems that begin with living ecologies, specifically transforming seaweed into regenerative biomaterial sheets suitable for real-world products. The company combines industrial design, engineering, and strategy to create versatile sheets with varied thicknesses, textures, and optical properties—from vibrant and leather-like to translucent and bubbled. These sheets can be used in product design, interior applications, and softer lighting solutions, offering a circular, low-impact alternative to conventional materials. By moving from raw seaweed to finished sheets, Compound demonstrates a viable path toward products that are both functional and lighter on the planet.
Target Audience
Primary customers are product designers, interior designers, and manufacturers seeking sustainable, circular biomaterials for consumer goods, lighting, and interior applications.
Features
- Material sheets made from seaweed with thicknesses ranging from 0.23 mm to 0.5 mm
- Multiple aesthetic and tactile variants including vibrant, leather-like, translucent, and textured finishes
- Translucent sheets designed to carry light for soft lighting applications and considered interiors
- Circular material system that begins with living ecologies and ends in usable products
- Integration of industrial design, engineering, and systems thinking into material development