Sway sources from a vetted global network of seaweed suppliers that responsibly farm and harvest seaweed. Our seaweed partners are located around the world, including Indonesia, Chile, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Madagascar, and beyond! Seaweed grows abundantly on nearly every global coastline, and Sway is committed to expanding and diversifying our sourcing strategy as we grow. See our Impact page for more details.

Seaweed cultivation is a well-established and rapidly growing industry, with 97% of seaweed used in industrial applications being farmed rather than wild-harvested. Beyond its use in food, seaweed acts as a common gelling ingredient in everyday items like cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. There could be seaweed in your toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, donut glaze, and even the pill caps for your daily vitamins. Thanks to increased demand, annual seaweed cultivation has more than doubled in the last decade to over 35 million metric tons worldwide!

Compost! All Sway products are designed for both home and industrial compostability, an imperative piece of our global waste puzzle. Firstwave™ is already Certified Home & Industrial Compostable by TUV Austria. TPSea Flex™ certification is actively underway, with results expected in late 2025.

Industrially compostable materials are certified by third parties to break down within 3 months in composting facilities (high heat, moisture, microbes). Home compostable materials are certified to break down within 6 months in healthy home compost. This is special because less extreme conditions are needed, making it a more accessible practice to folks without industrial composting services offered by their municipality.

Municipal offerings, farm programs, or private services are often available locally. Or, if you’d like to try home composting, here’s a great guide to get you started!

 

We understand that convenient access to composting services is key for compostable materials to succeed, which is why Sway works in collaboration with composters, coalitions, and communities to help facilitate the mass adoption of both home and industrial composting. If you're working on expanding compostable infrastructure, get in touch — we'd love to connect!

Formal certification is a time and resource intensive process, which Sway only pursues when our formulations are market-ready, which is why you may see some products labeled as "certification pending."

Before undergoing certification, Sway materials are rigorously tested throughout development via in-house testing, third-party lab analysis, and real-world trials with composters. This ensures high confidence that our materials will meet certification decomposition standards of 180 days (home composting) and 90 days (industrial composting).

Sway packaging is designed for compost, where it breaks down with heat, humidity, and microbes. Throwing it out in nature won't create the same decomposition – please don't litter!

STEP #1: FORMULATION
Sway is an ingredient brand. At our lab in the San Francisco Bay Area, we develop breakthrough formulations through continuous prototyping, rigorous testing, and lab-scale production trials. Our team is constantly innovating!

STEP #2: MANUFACTURING
We partner with established domestic manufacturers who utilize standard plastic processing equipment. These partners compound and extrude our biobased formulations into high-performance pellets and flexible films.

STEP #3: DISTRIBUTION
Our network of packaging distributors (EcoEnclose, A New Earth Project, and Atlantic Packaging) transform our finished materials into packaging for brands across industries — from fashion and sports, to cosmetics and personal care, and beyond. We're just getting started!

Nope! While we love pretty much everything about seaweed, our packaging is designed to keep the goods inside fresh, clean, and scent-free.

Sway materials are designed for microbes to eat, not humans. Nori is a much better option! 

Today's plastic industry relies on petroleum-based resin pellets that are melted and formed into finished products through established manufacturing systems.

 

To enable plastic replacement at scale, Sway has developed TPSea™ (Thermoplastic Seaweed), an entirely new category of biopolymer resin. This Certified 100% Biobased, majority-seaweed pellet melts and flows like traditional plastic, integrating seamlessly into existing processes. TPSea™ can be combined with various biopolymers to create a myriad of end products, like our flexible films.

Flexible plastic film is under 10mil thick, typically made from polyethylene resin (LDPE or HDPE). Examples include shopping bags, polybags, bubble wrap, food wrappers, and cling wrap.

To replace plastics at scale, Sway has formulated two lines of flexible film: Firstwave™ and TPSea Flex™. View our products to learn how they are being used!

• Firstwave™ film is certified 100% biobased.

• TPSea™ pellets are certified 100% biobased.

• TPSea Flex™ film is majority biobased, and actively increasing.

TPSea Flex™ is a majority biobased material created by blending Sway’s core technology TPSea™ (a certified 100% biobased pellet, made entirely from seaweed and plants) with non-renewable, certified home compostable polymers. It's the first seaweed-based flexible film to be produced at scale, thanks to our incredible scientists and manufacturing partners achieving the previously unthinkable!

While Sway's ultimate goal is a 100% biobased version of this film, the addition of home compostable polymers currently provides non-negotiable performance qualities that help our material run smoothly through industrial-scale equipment. Innovation takes time, and we are actively phasing down this non-renewable component with each iteration.

Until our material is “perfect,” we recognize TPSea Flex™ as a huge first step towards a future we can all get behind: less plastic, more plants, and a healthier planet.

Have more questions? Email team@swaythefuture.com — we welcome thoughtful dialogue on material innovation and transparency!

Many! Sway packaging has been used by many brands, including prAna, Faherty, Florence Marine X, Burton. View our case studies to learn more.

If you're a seaweed farmer or processor, we'd love to hear from you! Please share your information via our Supplier Inquiry Form and we'll circle back based on alignment with our sourcing needs.

We're thrilled to hear more manufacturers are gaining interest in producing biomaterials! Please submit details about your operations to our Manufacturer Interest Form and we'll circle back based on capacity and alignment.

If you're a packaging distributor looking to add our compostable, seaweed-based packaging to your offerings, we'd love to hear from you! Please share your information via our Distributor Inquiry Form.

While we're currently focused on flexible film packaging commercialization via our distribution partners, our team is always interested to hear ideas for new innovations. Please submit your interest to our Product Inquiry Form, and we'll circle back based on capacity and alignment!

We're so glad to hear you're interested in Sway materials for personal use! At this early stage in our company, we're currently focused on finished packaging for product companies. We aspire to create consumer products in the future — stay tuned!